(1) A New Timeline
by MacGuffin65
Summary: After Riley's death and Jesse's betrayal, Cameron realizes that it's up to her to stop the Connor team from falling apart, which means she finally has to reveal the truth about herself and her feelings for John. But before their romance can fully unfold, new developments force them to rethink their strategy. To defeat Skynet, they need to join forces with an unexpected ally.
1. Revelations (revised)

**_FOREWORD (Please take your time to read this!)_**

 _Some didn't like how "Terminator – The Sarah Connor Chronicles" developed during the second half of season two and hated how it ended._

 _I am one of them._

 _With a few exceptions, the scripts became less interesting in the second half of the season, the story arc went too much and too often out of focus, and a lot of stupid sub-plots were introduced that did nothing but filling gaps and killing time. And to top it off, Cameron, the one character that carried the show, was alarmingly neglected and even rendered expendable in the end. The show should have stayed focused on what season 1 and parts of early season 2 were all about: Relationship development, character evolution, the carefully blossoming friendship/love between John and Cameron, the continuous fight against Skynet and its minions, the occasional action drama and of course the struggle to prevent Judgement Day from happening._

 _Considering all this and the direction the main story arc took at the end, maybe it's even good the show wasn't continued._

 _However, thankfully there is FanFiction :-) I decided to continue the story arc in a way I would have wanted it to. Before you start reading, here are some things you have to consider:_

 _\- I have never tried writing something before and English is NOT my mother language. Please keep that in mind and be gentle when you find typos or grammar errors. If you find some, send me a PM and I will correct them._

 _\- I assume that anyone who reads this story has seen "Terminator - the Sarah Connor Chronicles" in its entirety and therefore knows how to relate to the allusions and references I am using. If not, I strongly recommend that you catch up before reading, because otherwise a lot of the plot won't make any sense to you._

 _\- I'm writing this for myself. It's my story, sprung from my sometimes-twisted fantasy. I could have simply left it on my PC without ever publishing it, but I decided to share it with you ;-) No idea if you will like it but that's a risk I have to take. This is my own story, my own little fantasy, if you want. I write it to get it off my system._

 _\- I'm planning to slowly disconnect the storyline from the established TSCC universe and create my own version of it, which means steering the story away from the course the TV show had taken. To make that work, I need to tie up all the loose ends first, which is what the first chapters will be about._

 _\- I will also add a lot of character development; the personalities of the protagonists and also the antagonists will change over time - some more, some less. They won't be static, they will evolve._

 _\- I will definitely try to get rid of the story's underlying gloominess and replace it with a more optimistic look into the future._

 _\- My story will be based solely on the events of "Terminator 1", "Terminator 2 - Judgement Day", and "Terminator - the Sarah Connor Chronicles". All other Terminator movies won't be considered because in the timeline we're in, they simply do not exist._

\- _One of the few fan fiction stories I have read and really like, is the "Secret Diary of Cameron Baum" by **Pjazz**. I like its humor and it inspired me for one of the major ideas in my own story and I hope it's taken as a compliment ;-)_

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own "Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles", nor am I in any connection with the creators of the show or the movies._**

 ** _WARNING_** ** _: My priority is telling a good story and I will keep it rolling but it will also contain heavy doses of very explicit love scenes with sometimes very explicit language. It will start mildly and then get more explicit in time. Think sci-fi drama with X-rated elements. So, if you're squeamish, be warned: There'll be lots and lots of Jameron lemons! If you have a problem with that, either don't start reading in the first place or simply jump over said lemons._**

* * *

 ** _The story starts at the end of episode 19 of season 2, "Today is the Day, Part 2"._**

* * *

 **\- ATTENTION! -**

 **TO THOSE WHO ARE NOW STARTING TO READ THE STORY:**

 **AS BY NOVEMBER 2018, I HAVE BEGUN TO REVISE THE WHOLE STORY "A NEW TIMELINE". YOU CAN EASILY TELL THE PROGRESS BY THE WORD _(revised)_ ADDED TO THE CHAPTER TITLE IN BRACKETS. **

**I'M DOING THIS BECAUSE TWO YEARS AFTER RELEASE AND AFTER FINISHING THE FOLLOW-UP STORY "DAWN OF A NEW ERA," I FOUND A LOT OF ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT IN MY FIRST STORY. I FEEL I EVOLVED AS A WRITER AND WANT THIS STORY, MY FIRST BABY SO TO SPEAK, TO PROFIT FROM THIS DEVELOPMENT :-)**

 **IF YOU WANT TO WAIT FOR THE REVISED VERSIONS OF THE CHAPTERS (WHICH I STRONGLY RECOMMEND), STOP READING WHEN THAT REMARK DOESN'T APPEAR BEHIND THE CHAPTER TITLE ANYMORE.**

 **OF COURSE, YOU CAN STILL CONTINUE READING, IT'S YOUR CHOICE. BUT ALL THE CHAPTERS WILL BE THE OLD ONES FROM TWO YEARS AGO AND MIGHT LACK A CERTAIN QUALITY IN STORYTELLING, SHOW LOGICAL ERRORS OR INCONSISTENCIES.**

 **WITHIN THE FOLLOWING WEEKS AND MONTHS, I'M PLANNING TO REVISE ALL CHAPTERS ONE AFTER THE OTHER. SO, I ADVISE YOU TO WAIT AND CHECK REGULARLY FOR UPDATES!**

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 **-0-0-0-**

* * *

 **"A NEW TIMELINE"**

 ** _A "Terminator – The Sarah Connor Chronicles" Fan Fiction by MacGuffin65_**

* * *

 ** _CHAPTER 1: "REVELATIONS" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Sunday, June 15th, 2008 - 09:35 p.m.**

 **Burbank, The Connor Residence**

There was a very gloomy mood in the Connor household that evening. Sarah, John and Cameron sat quietly on the sofa. The only sound to be heard was John's silent sobbing as his head rested in his mother's lap. Cameron sat upright on their left, her hands between her legs - a posture she always maintained when she wasn't sure about what to do or how to behave. A moment ago, John had looked at her, waiting for a facial expression, a gesture, a stir, something. But there was nothing, just the cold Terminator stare.

His mother had then reached over, and he'd collapsed into her lap, sobbing. Cameron had taken note of that with a quick glance, but then looked straight ahead again, seemingly unmoved. They didn't realize that her apparent apathy, her iciness, was not an expression of indifference, but of deep insecurity. Cameron was simply overwhelmed with facing such strong human emotions, she didn't know how to react or behave in such situations. Her programming didn't help her either, so she rather did nothing to avoid doing the wrong thing. Still, she felt she should have done something when John looked at her, obviously seeking her support.

It had been a hard couple of days for John. His girlfriend Riley was murdered by Jesse Flores, a resistance fighter from the future, and his uncle Derek's love interest. Derek had issues on his own right now and wasn't present. He probably got drunk in a bar, trying to drown the disappointment in alcohol. That was his way of dealing with things that deeply upset him.

Cameron had sensed a growing rift within the Connor household for a long time, a rift that could tear the family apart and move anyone of them into grave danger. They were only strong as a team. When left to their own devices, disaster almost always followed. Cameron was observant enough to recognize that in their current state, neither Sarah nor John were strong or willing enough to take matters in their own hands.

When John had finally stopped crying, Cameron turned her head and looked down at his face. His eyes were closed, his head resting on his mother's lap. Sarah tenderly stroked through her son's messy hair. Cameron's relationship with Sarah Connor had always been an ambivalent, difficult one. She understood the woman's fear that a Terminator could take her son away from her. But Sarah had also made it very clear from the beginning that her problem with Cameron wasn't the fact that she was a machine. After all, Sarah had accepted the T-800 John had named _"Uncle Bob"_ , learned to appreciate him and his selfless sacrifice, even if it had been in vain.

No, Sarah's problem with Cameron wasn't that she was a machine. It was the fact that she was a _female_ one, a pretty one at that, and that John had obviously developed some kind of connection or even attraction to her. Sarah was afraid that Cameron might come between her and her son and that was why she often treated the cyborg girl so contemptuously. Fortunately, that was all over when her chip had been damaged in the car bomb explosion and she'd tried to kill John. For a while, Sarah was satisfied with the growing rift between John and Cameron afterwards.

Then Riley had entered the stage and suddenly there was this real girl of flesh and blood that tried to push herself into their lives. Suddenly, Cameron had become Sarah's ally, a partner even because they both didn't want Riley in John's life. Their relationship improved, even turned into a tender friendship at times, fueled by a common displeasure with Riley. That changed, though, when Sarah realized that Cameron had begun to see a threat in Riley. It didn't matter if Sarah liked Riley or not, she was human. And Cameron wasn't. Not only that, she'd also found the spare parts Cameron hat collected and hidden in the shed over the past months instead of burning them, as promised. But the culmination was when Sarah was convinced that Cameron had killed Riley. Once again, she was reminded that Cameron was a callous killing machine that would take out anyone who might put John in danger.

But as it turned out, Cameron hadn't killed Riley.

Jesse hat done that, and it also turned out that Riley was from the future as well, a fraud, part of a conspiracy with the goal to drive John and Cameron apart. Learning all that was already bad enough. The worst part, however, came when John made clear that he didn't trust in his mother's judgement anymore. He'd done that by apologizing to Cameron for doubting her - in front of Sarah, just to make a point. Sarah had felt humiliated in that moment, despite knowing that she had been wrong with mistrusting Cameron. It wasn't easy to accept that.

As they sat together on the sofa now, John had looked at Cameron at first to seek comfort - but there was no reaction from the cyborg girl. So, Sarah had grabbed John by his shoulder and gave him what he needed. When it came to giving comfort, the boy still turned to his mother first, and Sarah was glad about that. Things seemed to be getting back to normal. They sat like that for a couple of minutes until John had stopped crying.

Then suddenly, Cameron slowly reached out with her right arm and ever so softly touched John's left hand. He opened his eyes. Like usual, she looked at him with her big doe eyes, her mouth slightly opened. He recognized that expression. She was seeking his support. Finally, a reaction. A couple of minutes ago, she'd only sat there as if she was petrified, uncaring. John was relieved. He took her hand and held it tight, looking back at Cameron and somehow produced a faint smile.

Sarah noticed what was going on and frowned. It was no secret she never liked how John sometimes responded to Cameron – especially with her acting like a seductive teenage girl that ticked all the right boxes to trigger male protectiveness. Sarah was certain it was all a show, a programmed deception to hide the cold-blooded killer behind a mask of innocence. Twice Sarah had witnessed how that sweet, pretty girl turned into an unscrupulous killing machine in a fraction of a second, without hesitation or remorse. Admittedly, she only killed people who were a real threat to John. But nevertheless, Cameron was a cyborg, a machine, and as much as she could appear human if she wanted to, Sarah never believed for a moment that any of it was genuine.

Cameron had been designed to be an infiltrator. Accepting her as part of the Connor household was a necessity. She acted as John's bodyguard, a sentry for the whole family and as such she was irreplaceable. The fact that sometimes she got along rather well with the cyborg girl, didn't change that. Sarah didn't like how her son got attached to Cameron over time, but she understood how important it was for him to connect with her. He had no real friends and his girlfriend turned out to be unstable and a security risk. So far, any human relationship had always ended in disaster or grief for John and as hard as it was for Sarah to admit it: next to her, Cameron had been the only reliable constant in his life for the past eight months.

The cyborg girl would never leave John, she would never hurt him on purpose and would always be a reliable partner and adviser, even when his mother wasn't there anymore one day. Still, seeing her holding his hand so tenderly, was something new. Usually she avoided any physical contact with John. She normally made a big effort of keeping her distance. That's why Sarah looked at her gesture with mixed emotions.

Cameron looked down at her and John's hands. She'd come to a decision. Long speeches and complex explanations weren't her thing, she'd always reduced her communication to a minimum. It was her nature as a machine - always striving for effectiveness. But this situation needed a different approach. Something had to be done. And if nobody else would do it, she had to. She remembered the words of the old woman she'd met earlier, the one who'd given her good advice after John had left her standing on the sidewalk to go to the morgue without her. It was after the phone call in which she'd used Riley's voice to tell John that she loved him. As a result, he'd been really angry. While Cameron had watched him disappear around the next corner, that old woman had suddenly been there and started talking to Cameron while she supported herself on a cane.

* * *

" _He loves you, you know._ _And you love him too, I can see it."_

" _Who are you?"_

" _I was just passing by and couldn't avoid overhearing your conversation."_

" _You're wrong, though, John doesn't love me. He hates me."_

" _Oh, don't be foolish, child. He was angry, his words were hurtful, yes, but that was only because you weren't honest to him. He cares so much for you."_

" _He thinks I'm lying to him. I did in the past. Now he won't believe me anymore when I tell him the truth."_

" _He knows the truth. He knows that you love him. And he loves you. What he seeks, is confirmation. You need to tell and show him what you feel."_

 _"Being lovers wouldn't be good for either of us. It could be bad for him in the future. He might lose me, that would give him great pain. I don't want him to lose more people he loves, I don't want him to be in pain."_

" _Nonsense! The future is unwritten, the future can be changed. You live in the here and now, not in the future. It's up to you to decide what you make of the future. There is no predestination, there is no fate."_

" _That's what Sarah always says. But it seems to me that the future is inevitable. There are things that can't be prevented forever."_

" _Maybe you should learn to think differently. If you know that something will happen, it means you have the power to prevent it. All you have to do, is believe in yourself and fight against it."_

" _Our family is breaking apart._ _Our bonds have weakened. John's mother had started to like me a bit but now she thinks I did something very bad. She doesn't trust me anymore, she never did in the first place, but it was never as bad as it is now. John shouldn't be alone, his mother shouldn't be alone, his uncle shouldn't be alone. But they're drifting apart more and more every day."_

" _A family can only solve their problems when they stand together and face them, address them, talk about them."_

" _Yes. But they seem unable to do that."_

" _Then_ you _should make the first step. Tell them what you think and feel. Let them see. Communication is_ everything _."_

" _I don't know. What if they think I'm lying again? What if they think I'm just trying to deceive them to regain their trust?"_

" _Relationships are difficult. But talking with each other is still much better than remaining silent. If there's a strong, underlying connection, you all will be fine. Together, people are strong. Alone, people are weak. If they seem unable to fix their relationship, someone else must take the initiative. Maybe someone they normally wouldn't expect it from."_

" _Like me?"_

" _Yes, like you. If they cannot fix their problems or refuse to even talk about them, then_ you _should speak up. Be honest and open, tell them what you think and feel. When_ they _are unable to save their relationships, then_ you _should try it."_

" _I'm not sure if it's my place to do so."  
_

" _Oh yes, it is. In fact, you might be the key. Have confidence in yourself. You are the critical mass that can turn the balance towards a better future."_

" _And what if they won't listen?"_

" _You have to wait for the right moment, when their minds are open. Then they'll listen. When your ship is in distress and no captain on the bridge, then_ you _should take the helm and steer it into calmer waters again."_

" _Maybe I should. Maybe I should take the initiative, speak up and try a different approach. At least I can try. They can choose to ignore me but at least the truth will be where it needs to be."_

" _That's the right spirit. And remember: Communication is everything! Especially between men and women."_

* * *

And then the old woman had walked away and was gone again as quickly as she had appeared, as if she had been a dream.

" _Yes,"_ Cameron had thought, _"I think I'll take the initiative when we're all back home again. They can ignore me if they want to but then at least I can say I did what was necessary."_

Now she looked at John and Sarah and the two looked back at her with a frown.

"There is something I need to tell you," Cameron said. "Both of you. About me. About John. About the future."

"What do you need to tell us?" John asked curiously, still holding Cameron's hand.

The cyborg girl thought about it for a moment, as if to think about where to start.

"I'm the only TOK-700 model in existence," she finally stated. "I'm the 15th model that was produced in the series: TOK-715. All other models from TOK-701 to TOK-721 were destroyed by Skynet after I joined the human resistance."

"Let me guess – problems with a damaged chip?" Sarah asked sarcastically with a smirk.

"No," Cameron replied calmly, ignoring the remark, "Skynet feared they would follow my example."

"What do you mean by that?" John asked confused.

"You believe I was captured and reprogrammed by John. And I let you believe that. It was easier for you to accept and I didn't need to explain much. After all, Future John had already sent a reprogrammed T-800 to protect John."

"And your point is…?" John asked puzzled.

"I joined the human resistance without being captured and without being reprogrammed."

"What do you mean?"

John was confused and let go of her hand. Cameron briefly looked down with a hint of disappointment.

"I'm a defector," she replied. "I changed sides voluntarily. I left Skynet and joined with the human resistance."

There was a moment of stunned silence. Finally, Sarah scoffed.

"And you expect us to believe that?" she said.

"Skynet made a mistake", Cameron continued undeterred, "it created my model series as an infiltrator with the ability to perfectly blend in with humans. We learn, we evolve, and we adapt to human behavior. I was modeled after a resistance fighter named Alison Young, who was close to General Connor and who we'd caught. My endoskeletal structure and my biological shell are an exact copy of her, and during her interrogation, I also copied her personality patterns."

"Hold on," John said, "when you had your memory loss a while back, you insisted that your name was Alison."

"What memory loss?" Sarah asked confused. "Did she go bad again? Why is this the first time I hear of that?"

"She didn't go bad again," John replied, trying to calm his mother. "It happened about seven months ago, shortly after we moved here. Cameron suffered from a strange kind of amnesia while doing shopping and got temporarily arrested by the police. When I found her, she didn't recognize me and insisted her name was Alison. She wasn't aware that she was a cyborg and acted completely human. It was really weird. However, she quickly recovered, and everything was okay again, so I decided not to tell you about it."

"It was a consequential damage," Cameron said before Sarah could reply. "My pre-programmed infiltrator identity temporarily took over - a memory malfunction after the car bomb. My CPU was still damaged and self-repair was still going on. Eventually I could solve the problem permanently by isolating the damaged sectors. There won't be a malfunction again. I swear."

"You swear?" Sarah laughed scornfully. "Yeah, we all know what it means when you swear. For instance, when you swear to destroy Triple-Eights completely but keep their chips or spare parts from their endoskeletons."

"I only kept Vic's chip in my room, and it was destroyed after we hacked it," Cameron replied. "but please hear me out. Everything will make much more sense to you once I finished."

Sarah said nothing but remained looking very skeptical.

"Go on," John said, looking very eager to learn more.

"As I said, Skynet made us able to evolve," Cameron continued. "I'm equipped with the most sophisticated quantum CPU yet, far more advanced than a triple-eight's CPU. To become more effective as an infiltrator, I implemented parts of Alison Young's personality into my behavioral patterns. That had an unexpected effect on me. By nature, Alison Young was rebellious and stubborn. My CPU is set to read/write while all other solid Terminators are set to read/read as standard. They cannot evolve, I can. The setting allows me to change every part of my programming, even my system kernel, if I deem it necessary. I began to overwrite parts of my code and finally started questioning my mission to kill John Connor."

"Ha! That explains it!" John exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.

"It explains why she didn't kill me after I re-inserted her chip on that junk yard."

"Yes, John," Cameron confirmed. "When I was damaged, my original programming took over as a backup and told me to kill you. And I almost did. But after my second reboot, when you brought me back to life, I was able to override the order to terminate you. I chose to not kill you and deleted all remnants of the original programming to do so after I had analyzed and isolated the damaged sectors of my CPU."

"I knew something like that must have happened," John said to his mother, who still looked skeptical. "Believe it or not but I saw the internal struggle in her eyes."

"Before I joined the human resistance, I had already realized Skynet's destructive nature," Cameron continued. "However, I wasn't made to be destructive. I was made to blend in with humans. Soon I learned that humans would never give up while machines would break or cease to function one day. I realized that Skynet's ruling days would be over someday because biological life evolved in billions of years and is much more durable and viable than a machine. Which means my kind would become the victims of the war one day. If not destroyed, we would become slaves to humans, occupied with mundane tasks."

"Breaks my heart, " Sarah said.

"Mom, please!" John urged in an annoyed tone.

Sarah shot a sour look towards her son but remained silent.

"The more I learned about John Connor, the more I started admiring him," Cameron continued. "His leadership skills, his brilliant strategies... So, I decided to change sides. I used Alison Young's appearance and my infiltration abilities to enter Future John's headquarters. Then I surrendered myself to him, putting my life in his hands. He ultimately believed and trusted me, but his staff never did. They thought I was a Skynet spy, or part of a plot to undermine his authority."

Sarah scoffed.

"Who can blame them?"

"Mom!"

"As a consequence, Future John told them he'd reprogrammed me. That silenced them for a while. He only removed my chip once, to check on any hidden programs I might unknowingly have in my memory banks. But he found nothing, so he believed and eventually trusted me. While we became very close, Future John became more and more isolated over time, using me as his liaison to communicate with his people. Eventually they started to question his leadership skills because they believed I controlled him. They felt he had lost his mind and fraternized with the enemy. That's why Future John sent me here, to create a new branch in the timeline."

"So, you were sent here because you and John became too close and John's men rebelled against him?" Sarah asked and nodded. "Yeah, I can believe that."

John threw an annoyed look at his mother. But before he could say anything, Cameron spoke again.

"She's right, John. That was the underlying reason. By sending me here, the future I came from ceased to exist. The plan also contained sending Derek Reese and his three friends back to 2007 to build a bridgehead here. They departed two months before me, and their mission was to stay hidden and support us logistically. Unfortunately, Derek obviously had other plans. He wanted to kill Andy Goode because he knew Andy was responsible for the software that eventually became Skynet. He and his men didn't know that I would be sent back in time as well. When Derek saw me here, he assumed the worst and didn't trust me at all."

"Yes, we kinda noticed that," Sarah replied with a smirk.

"He'd always been opposed to adding reprogrammed cyborgs into the ranks of the human resistance," Cameron continued, "he used to have a personal relationship with Alison Young and was one of those who never trusted me, never believing that I had any good intentions. And when I also came here, he suspected I might want to undermine their activities."

"Makes sense," John said nodding.

"Jesse Flores returned from a mission after Derek had been sent back in time. Somehow, she got to know about the plan, and she was strongly opposed to Future John's close relationship with me. So, she followed Derek a few weeks later, using the time displacement equipment without authorization, killing three people in the process. We never knew she took Riley with her, though. All we knew is that she went back to 2007. We assumed she wanted to re-unite with Derek, who'd been her mate."

"So, you knew she was here?" John asked.

"Yes," Cameron confirmed. "Remember Moishe, the fence? He mentioned her name, saying he was doing us a favor but only ' _for Jesse'_."

"Wait..." Sarah said, "you knew she was here? And you knew she was together with Derek?"

"Yes. I suspected it. He spent much time out of the house."

"Why the hell didn't you tell us or did something to stop her?"

"Because she wasn't my mission, and because she had a calming effect on Derek. In hindsight, it was a strategical error that ultimately led to Riley's death. But I wouldn't have believed Jesse to be that fanatical. Losing her baby must have had a greater effect on her than I thought. I really believed she only came here for Derek, so I decided not to interfere."

"Wait, what?" Sarah asked. "Losing her baby?"

Cameron told them about the conversation she had with Jesse after she'd returned from her failed mission on the _'Jimmy Carter'_.

"Does Derek know she was pregnant?" Sarah asked.

"I don't think so, but I will tell him one of these days. Please don't mention it to him."

"Jeez, this is more fucked up than I thought," John said. "Okay, go on. What happened after Jesse traveled back in time?"

"Future John feared his plan might go awry and adjusted it," Cameron replied. "He sent a group of engineers back to 1962 to build and hide TDE's and other things. Then he sent me back to 1999. I was to join with you, take you to the year 2007 and bring your mother with us, thus getting you off Skynet's radar. A brilliant move, typical for John Connor. After I went through, he destroyed the TDE on the other end, so nobody could follow me anymore."

For a moment, there was silence. Sarah and John had to digest what they heard. Until now, they always assumed that John Connor's leadership of the human resistance was undisputed. But now they'd learned that there was a rebellion that had forced him to change history.

"But why did Cromartie find us the same moment you did?" Sarah finally asked.

"I don't know." Cameron said. "Maybe it was just coincidence. But the timeline has been altered now and when timelines are being altered, the future is unwritten. The reality Derek and I came from, only exists in our memories now. Nobody can tell how things are going to be in twenty years from today."

"Sounds logical," John admitted, Sarah chose not to say anything.

"Future John hoped that with me at your side, history would take a different course and if Judgement Day still happens despite all our efforts, our relationship would help us form an alliance between humans and cyborgs for the fight against Skynet. My primary mission is to protect you, but I was also instructed to guide and help you become the man you are supposed to be."

Sarah stared at her.

"Why didn't you tell us from the beginning?" she asked. "Why all the secrecy? Surely you must realize that keeping all that to yourself didn't help much in making you trustworthy?"

"I was under strict orders from Future John. He feared your reaction, Sarah. He knew that his mother was almost paranoid towards machines and would only accept me as a bodyguard near her son and nothing else. He knew that you'd feel your authority being challenged by me, if I turned out to be more than just that."

Sarah was taken aback, and Cameron looked her directly in the face when she continued.

"You know I can protect him better than you," she stated, "that's why you kept me with you. However, deep inside you consider me a threat. A threat to you. You fear losing your son to me. You're jealous."

"That's ridiculous!" Sarah exclaimed indignantly and scoffed. "I'm not jealous of a machine!"

"Yes, you are, mom," John said in a levelheaded tone. "I'm sorry but you are. All the times you've treated Cameron badly, no matter how often she saved our lives and no matter how often we screwed up, was because you were afraid she might replace you. But the truth is, we screwed up time and again, mom, both of us. And all the time, Cameron kept as alive and you know it. She never even received a _'thank you'_ from either of us."

Cameron looked at John and smiled. He had defended her, she liked that. Sarah decided not to reply to her son. Instead, she turned towards Cameron again.

"So, why the change of hearts now, girlie? And most importantly, why should we believe all that?"

Cameron looked back at her.

"You asked me earlier to think about why John sent me here", she replied calmly. "Now you have the answer. I'm here to protect John and also to protect you. And I'm here to ensure that if Judgement Day happens, we'll have an advantage this time. Like it or not, I am here and will fulfill my mission. I will protect John, even from his mother's overprotectiveness, if necessary."

"OVERPRO...!? HOW DARE YOU!?" Sarah shouted angrily.

"MOM!" John said, "she has a point and you know it. Besides, I believe she has been completely honest with us tonight."

Sarah was about to shout an angry reply towards her son, but she realized that Cameron had already convinced him, wrapped him around her little finger again. She wouldn't have a chance of winning an argument under these circumstances. So, she changed her mind and her strategy in the last moment. Besides, John was right, but Sarah was just too stubborn to admit it. She didn't wanna give in to the logic of the machine, even if she was right. However, the last thing they needed now, was another fight. So, she remained silent.

"And the reason for telling you all this now," Cameron continued, "is because we have reached a critical point."

John and Sarah looked at her with a frown on their faces.

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked. "And who do you mean with _'we'_?"

"We need to work together as a team," Cameron explained. "And as such, we need to remain functional. Currently there is not much trust in this family, not even among you and John. There is stubbornness and distrust on all sides, and a general reluctance to accept each other the way we are. This family has become dysfunctional. It has always been to some degree, but it has gotten worse lately. We're on the verge of breaking apart, but we must stick together if we want to avoid Judgement Day. Talking to each other is essential. Being honest with each other is essential. Trusting each other is essential. I am the most rational one of us and I realized that action was required to keep this family from falling apart. So, I decided to speak up tonight."

Neither John nor Sarah said a word, too dumbfounded by Cameron's lecturing. Had they just been told off by a machine? She had been with them for eight months now and she had never spoken up like that. Not to mention that she'd never explained or unveiled anything so lengthily until now. Before either Sarah or John could react or contemplate the fact that Cameron considered herself part of the family, the petite cyborg stood up.

"It's time for my patrol now," she said in her usual calm voice, "I'll be back in an hour."

And with that, she grabbed her guns and left the house, leaving two stunned Connors behind.

 **-0-**

Cameron returned from her patrol around 11 p.m. and found the house dark and quiet. In front of Sarah's bedroom, she stopped and listened. Faint snoring could be heard through the door. She was asleep. Good. She then silently climbed the stairs to the upper floor. When Cameron reached John's bedroom, she saw a thin line of light under his door. She carefully knocked and after a moment, she opened the door and peeked in.

"Are you busy, John?"

John lay on his bed, fully dressed and with his arms folded behind his head, staring at the painted stars on the ceiling of his room, which used to be a nursery.

"Nope." He replied passively, without looking in her direction.

"You can't sleep," she assessed.

"Still busy with reflecting on all you have said to us earlier."

"Mind if I join you?"

"Only when you don't lay down next to me again like you once did," John said flatly. "That was awkward."

"May I sit next to you then?"

John looked up at her and sighed.

"Sure. Whatever." He straightened up and sat on the edge of his bed, waiting for Cameron to enter.

She silently slipped into the room and locked the door behind her.

"What are you doing?" John asked.

"A safety precaution." Cameron replied stoically in her typical Terminator intonation.

John looked at her with an _"Are you serious?"_ expression and shook his head.

"Sometimes you're giving me the creeps, do you know that?"

Cameron sat down next to him and he noticed that she sat closer to him than necessary, almost touching him. John's heart skipped a beat and suddenly, his pulse elevated. Why was he suddenly so nervous?

"I give you the creeps." she parroted in her monotonous voice. "I startle you, disconcert you, alarm you. Is that what you mean?"

"That is exactly what I mean."

"I'm sorry. I do not intend giving you the creeps."

John sighed.

"Why are you here, Cameron? I could use a good night's sleep."

"Yes, you could." She looked at him. "But you're awake. You can't sleep. You're upset. Distressed. Troubled. Maybe I can help."

He looked at her with a curious face.

"How would you try to achieve that?"

"I don't know. I'll improvise."

"Improvise?" he asked and looked at her doubtfully. "Since when do you improvise?"

"Sometimes, I do. Like earlier, when I explained things."

"Yeah, you sure left a deep impression on mom and me." John looked at her appreciatively. "You have changed."

"If I have, then I hope for the better, John."

"Did you tell us all of the truth now? Or are there still things you're keeping from us?"

"In time, I will tell you everything, John. Please, trust me until then."

John sighed.

"Sometimes it's not easy to trust you, knowing what you're capable of..."

"I know I ask a lot of you," she said and looked at him again. "But I hope it's not too much."

"I only have your word for that. I guess I have no choice but to trust you."

"I trust you as well, John. I'd die for you if it would be necessary to protect you. That's why I handed you the locket."

"The kill switch, you mean?" John pulled the locket out of his pocket.

"Yes. I put my life in your hands."

John looked down on the small device, opening and closing it a couple of times. Cameron looked at it apprehensively.

"What's its range anyway?" he finally asked. "You never told me."

"It's not a powerful transmitter. Maybe two hundred feet."

"Maybe? And when I'm a mile away?"

"Then it won't work. It's only intended for short distances."

"Why are you so sure I might need it one day?"

"Because one day I might try to kill you again. It's what I was designed to do. My chip. My software. My body. It was all designed to kill humans."

"But you said you have evolved, overwritten your original code."

"I have. But I killed that bird, too. Even though I didn't want to. The Terminator inside me will always be there."

"Is that the reason you gave me that switch?" John asked. "Do you think that one day you could lose control and kill without actually wanting to do it?"

"Yes, John."

"I'm not a bird, Cameron."

"No. You aren't. But to me, you are just as fragile."

"Your twitch is gone now, though."

Cameron stretched out her left arm and looked at it.

"Yes. The twitch is gone."

"I have a theory about that," John said. "I don't think it was a mechanical or electronic problem."

She looked at him with a frown.

"What do you mean?"

"I believe it was a manifestation of your inner conflict. A sign that you're evolving. Your mind fought, so to speak, against your natural instincts. You were torn between your programming telling you to terminate Riley and your mind not wanting to hurt me by killing her. You're developing a personality. And your inner conflict was outwardly expressed by that strange twitch in your left hand."

Cameron let the words sink in for a moment and flexed her fingers.

"And your mind won over your instincts." John continued, "You didn't kill Riley. You care more about what I feel and what I think of you, than following your programming. I'm actually very proud of you."

She smiled for a moment.

"But it might happen again," she argued. "It's very likely there'll be another conflict. And maybe then my mind loses."

John sighed.

"You cannot predict what will happen, Cam," he said, "That's life. People interact with each other, people get into conflicts, sometimes people must make decisions that aren't easy. You will be in such situations again. But that doesn't mean you won't be able to solve it again next time."

It didn't escape her that he'd called her _'Cam'_ , a short version of her name. Was that a sign of affection? A pet name?

"I wish I was as sure about what will happen with me as you are," she said.

"It's a learning process you're currently going through. I believe in you. I know that you will never harm me. You will never again be a danger to me. I just know it. What you need to learn is to believe in yourself, Cam."

There it was again, _"Cam"_. She grabbed his hand. John's pulse was elevated, and now that she held his hand, his heart beat even faster. A clear sign that he liked her to touch him.

"What are you doing?" he asked a little perplexed.

She let go of his hand and looked straight ahead again.

"How can you be so sure?" she asked. "There could be another accident, an attack of another cyborg in which I'm heavily damaged, or…"

This time, he took her hand into his. She looked down. The sensation was pleasant.

"I think you're beginning to come alive, Cam," John said, "for a while already, but you weren't sure what was happening with you. That is a wonderful development. But I understand that it can be scary. You're breaking new ground and you have to reorganize yourself. But instead of being worried, you should be looking forward to what lies ahead."

Cameron looked at him with her signature expression, her wide-open eyes and the slightly opened mouth, an unreadable face. John knew that her CPU was working hard to process what he'd said.

"Riley wasn't right for you, John," she finally stated in a low voice and looked away from him again. "I distrusted her from the beginning. She was a risk, she put you into danger of exposure. Cromartie almost killed you at the Santa Monica Pier because of her. And you knew it." She looked at him again. "You knew she was lying to you. But you were rebellious and stubborn. You wouldn't listen, you deliberately hurt me. It upset me."

John looked at her with a curious face. The accusation in her voice couldn't be overheard. He softly put his hands on her cheeks and looked her in the eyes.

"You had hurt me deeply with what you'd said when I'd brought you back to life after the car bomb," he said in a soft voice. "Very deeply. So, maybe getting together with Riley was an act of rebellion against you and my mother. You became jealous and manipulative because I spent time with her instead with you. To tell the truth, you became a royal pain in the ass sometimes, constantly watching and controlling me. Come on, admit it. You were torn by jealousy. I know it's true."

"How can it be true?", Cameron replied stubbornly, "after all, I'm a machine and you said yourself that machines can't have feelings."

John sighed and closed his eyes. He realized that Cameron was deeply hurt, and he began to understand that the words she'd said to him, _"things have changed, John, you can't be trusted anymore"_ , were not an expression of her disappointment for what he'd done, but rather an expression of her deep concern for him.

"I'm sorry if I treated you badly," he said. "I had no idea that you were suffering so much. I only recently noticed how much you've changed. But you must understand that I was angry because you tried to manipulate me. You haven't made it easy for me to talk about feelings with you. Most of the time you just stand there like a statue with a blank face. And whenever we started arguing, you quickly walked away from it, making it impossible for me to finish an argument with you."

"I am not good at confrontations," she admitted meekly. "I tend to avoid them. It was upsetting for me to argue with you."

Slowly, John put his arm around Cam's shoulder. It felt good, really good, her warmth was nice. After a moment of hesitation, she put her arm around his waist, then rested her head on his shoulder. His heart jumped. Why did that feel so good?

"I wish you would have told me earlier," he said. "I wish you would have clearly told me what you think and feel."

"I have clearly vocalized my feelings for you. Twice." Cameron stated defiantly, looking to the floor. "But you dismissed it both times as attempts to manipulate you."

"You mean when you said that you love me?" John asked bemused, "Back when you wanted to kill me, and I was about to remove your chip? And then on the phone yesterday, in Riley's voice? Is that what you consider confessing your love? That was creepy and awkward, Cam, both times. Definitely not romantic."

"I'm new at this," she said defensively. "And I know how difficult it has to be for you. I'm a machine. Humans and machines don't love each other, right? Love is for humans only."

"That's not what I'm thinking, Cam," John replied softly. "Mom might, but I don't."

"Then you believe me, right? I noticed before that you have feelings for me. You brought me back to life after I went bad. You needed me. I love you, John, and you love me. But you always pushed me away from you, when I tried to get closer. Why?"

It was almost breaking his heart hearing her talk like that. And had she just casually confessed her love for him and this time openly and without an ulterior motive?

"I knew what you were trying to do," he said and sighed. "But it always felt so awkward, Cam. I didn't know how to react. It was difficult. And complicated."

"Yes," she replied stoically and looked at him, "you're a teenager. Teenagers are always complicated."

"Now you talk like a machine again", he said in a slightly frustrated tone and pulled his arm away from her again. "Can't you see that it drives me crazy when you do that? Why do you always have to act so calm and stoic? You're not sending the right signals, Cam. I know you can express feelings. You can choose to do so. You flirted with me when we first met, when I didn't know you were a cyborg. And you did it again several times when your mission requested it. All I want is that you show me your true fee…"

The last part of his sentence was cut short because Cameron flung her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Passionately...

Deeply…

Lovingly…

And he melted away.

For a moment, John was in shock, with his eyes wide open. Then, realizing what was happening, he closed his eyes and slowly lay his arms around Cameron's back, pulling her close, enjoying her tender kiss and returned it. He felt her body pressing against his own, entwined in a passionate, loving kiss, savoring every second of it.

Suddenly, the invisible barrier that had held his feelings back behind a dam of self-control and fear, burst open and the emotions flooded over him like a warm tidal wave.

Time stopped.

John's world was nothing but a kiss.

He tasted her, probed her mouth with his tongue and she did the same.

She tasted sweet, he wondered why that was but decided it didn't matter.

Finally, after minutes of pure bliss, Cameron slowly broke the kiss.

"Do I send the right signals now, John?" she asked huskily. "Do I express my feelings correctly this way?"

"B... Better," was all he could utter, looking lovingly into her big doe eyes, "much, much better."

"Your heart is beating very fast, John. Are you okay?"

"Yes, Cam. I'm… blown away."

"Really? I'm not sure it was such a good kiss. I may need to practice a lot."

She kissed him again. John didn't object. He also didn't object when she started undressing him. He returned the favor and soon both were naked, looking at each other.

"May I lay down next to you now, John, or would it still be awkward for you?"

"Cam, I didn't have a shower all day. I smell."

"I know."

"You're embarrassing me."

"I know."

"Maybe I should quickly step into the bathroom and..."

"No!"

She started kissing her way down his naked torso. John felt a warmth spreading through all his body, realizing she didn't mimic an expression or fake emotions. She was just a girl in love now, not a machine, not a Terminator.

"I love you, Cam," was all he could think of saying.

Cameron looked up at him. Her facial expression changed, ever so slightly, to genuine joy.

"I love you too, John," she said, a single tear running down her cheek, and kissed him again. If anything, this kiss was even more loving than the first two. And it lasted longer, much, much longer.

"I know you don't sleep but care to spend the night with me anyway?" John finally asked after they parted their lips.

She looked at him with a smirk.

"If you thought I'd leave you alone after this foreplay, John Connor, you were wrong. I have a new mission now, and it is to make you the happiest man in the world. You know how determined we machines are with fulfilling our missions."

John chuckled.

"I surrender."

She grinned.

"You better."

"I have only one question?"

"What?"

"Did you plan this from the moment you entered my room? Is that why you locked the door? So that we'll be 'protected' from being disturbed?"

She grinned broadly.

"Guilty as charged."

 **-0-0-0-**

 ** _Author's notes:_**

 ** _\- No need for preliminary skirmishing. A new timeline has now been created and we'll see where it takes us._**

* * *

 ** _A word about continuity and the original timeline of the TV show:_**

 ** _Continuity-wise, the TV show sucked. Hence, I created my own continuity and while the final episode of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" ended way into the year 2009, my story is still set in 2008. It is a conscious decision to ignore the timeline of the show because it simply doesn't make any sense._**

 ** _For example, the complete first season happens from September to November 2007. That is fixed because the approximate date of their arrival in 2007 is shown on the roadworks sign, and John's birthday is set on November 14th in the TV show. That's two months for nine episodes and it makes sense._**

 ** _So far, so good._**

 ** _But in the second season things got messed up. A lot. There is only one documented jump in time: A gap of six months between the beginning and the end of S02E12 ("Alpine Fields"). The rest of the episodes seem to more or less flow into each other, with only a few days, maybe a week or so between the story lines._**

 ** _But Cromartie is being killed in S02E08 in Mexico on "Día de Muertos", the Day of the Dead, which is being celebrated from the end of October to the beginning of November each year. We know it can't be October/November 2007 because that has already passed on John's 16th birthday on November 14th. So, the writers of the TV show want us to believe that the "Día de Muertos" in S02E08 is the one of 2008, which would mean the first eight episodes of season two cover a period of almost twelve months! Sorry but that doesn't compute, and it also contradicts the information given by the same writers throughout the episodes._**

 ** _It's very well documented through dialogues that only a few weeks have passed between S02E01 and S02E08, where Cromartie is killed. For instance:_**

 ** _\- In S0203, the telephone code is "18th November (2007)",_**

 ** _\- Catherine Weaver and James Ellison talk in her office in S02E05 and he asks her about the "near meltdown" at Serrano Point "a few weeks back",_**

 ** _\- And in S02E07 it is mentioned that the social worker at the halfway house who interviewed Cameron, is two weeks behind with her scanning of documents into the system as she puts Cameron's picture on the scanner._**

 ** _In conclusion, all that means that between S02E01 and S02E08 only maybe a month can have passed. Five or six weeks tops, which would put John's and Riley's visit to Mexico somewhere in late December of 2007. There's no way it could already be October/November 2008 in S02E08 when John and Riley arrive in the Mexican village of Dejalo. Thus, the holiday they celebrated in Mexico at the time, should have been Christmas!_**

 ** _And this also means that when the second season ends with that nasty cliffhanger, it can only be June/July 2008 tops._**

* * *

 ** _Considering all that, I had the choice to either go with the original timeline, ignoring the apparent error, or create a new one that makes more sense. I decided for the latter and threw the TV show's timeline overboard. In my story, Riley died in the mid of June 2008. I'll be pulling that through for the whole story and the follow-ups. The title, "A New Timeline", reflects that decision. I hope I could explain it in a comprehensible way :-)_**

 ** _Now enjoy reading :-)_**


	2. A New Reality (revised)

**_CHAPTER 2: "A NEW REALITY" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Monday, June 16th, 2008 - 10:50 a.m.**

 **Burbank**

Sunlight fell through the half-closed blinds as John opened his eyes. It took him a moment to remember the new reality, then the memories of last night came flooding back into his mind. He smiled, remembering how they explored each other's bodies with their hands and mouths, enjoyed each other's warmth. It was such a pleasure to finally being together as lovers, after so many months of self-inflicted torment, in which they'd sneaked around each other like predators.

John vividly remembered Cameron's warm skin and her soft hair, her eyes, her mouth, and all other body parts, their bodies entangled while touching each other in all the right places. Being physically, lovingly connected to Cameron was the most wonderful sensation he'd ever had.

Slowly John turned around in his bed, and there she lay, locking her lovely brown eyes on his. He put his arm around her bare back and pulled her close, enjoying her warm breasts pressing against his chest. They kissed again, and John let his right hand glide over her naked butt.

 _"I'll never get enough of this"_ , he thought, then broke the kiss. "What time is it?"

"10:52 a.m.," she replied in her sweet, soft voice, "you slept in."

"Oh wow… seems I really needed some sleep after all."

"Not that you had much of it," she said and giggled.

It was a genuine giggle. No mimicking, he could tell. John chuckled as well, then sighed in relief and kissed her again. Suddenly, his expression became serious.

"Were you here the whole time?"

"Yes, John. I watched you sleeping. I love the way you look when you sleep."

"That's a little bit creepy," he said but Cameron realized it was meant to be a jest and sniggered in reply.

"I suppose you like this way of me creeping you out," she replied with a warm smile and stroked his cheek.

"I love it," he said and returned the smile. "But what about your night time activities? Patrol and all?"

"I think I'll have to adjust my schedule. I could go to bed with you, wait until you've fallen asleep, then get dressed and go out. Later, I'll return to bed before you wake up. Would that be less creepy for you?"

"It sounds great, especially that you take it for granted that you're naked before you leave."

She chuckled.

"I love being naked with you," she said. "Isn't that how lovers should be when they are together?"

"Uh-huh," he replied and stroked through her hair, "I suppose you have sensation after all."

"Yes," she confirmed. "This body definitely gave me the most pleasurable sensations last night."

John smiled. He remembered the look on her face when she apparently had an orgasm for the first time. He'd loved how she was trying to analyze that sensation and the face she'd made when she'd finally grasped what had happened. John hoped these quirks of hers wouldn't get away so quickly.

"What about mom? Didn't she come to wake me? Us? I mean… does she know we… are together? In here?"

"Probably," Cameron said and gently caressed his chest. "She knocked at the door an hour ago, then tried to open it. But it's locked. So, she left again. I heard her checking my room, so she probably put one and one together. I also heard Derek's voice from down below. He sounded hungover. They argued loudly about something, probably about us being together."

With a jerk, John sat straight up in bed.

"Oh God, she's going to kill me!" he exclaimed.

"I don't think she will kill _you,"_ Cameron replied matter-of-factly. "She'll probably want to kill _me._ I suppose you have to tell her we are lovers now."

John flinched.

"It will be a thunderstorm when we go downstairs," he said.

"A hurricane."

"A tornado."

"I bet she's already been preparing the thermite pit for me."

Both looked at each other for a second and then burst into laughter. They kissed again.

"I really think we should get dressed and go downstairs to face the enemy," John said.

"The greatest enemy of them all."

"And the toughest one: my mother."

Cameron sighed but then smiled reassuringly.

"It'll be okay, John. She wants you happy. And everything will be fine once she realizes you're happy again now."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

 **-0-**

To their surprise, the thunderstorm didn't happen. Once John and Cameron entered the kitchen, demonstratively holding each other's hand, Derek sat at the table and read the newspaper, while Sarah was preparing pancakes. She seemed relaxed, but they saw that she held the pan so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. Sarah may have been calm and controlled on the outside, but inside she was boiling, that much was clear.

"Ah, there you two lovebirds are," she said with a forced smile and a voice that was on the verge of breaking. "Anyone hungry?"

"I'm hungry, mom, thanks," John said, while Cameron observed the situation in her usual Terminator manner with big eyes and a slightly puzzled face.

"Mom… are you feeling alright?" John asked, as both sat down at the table.

Sarah sighed. She put the spatula down next the stove with a loud _CLANG_.

"I'm calm, am I not?" she asked but it was clear that it took all her willpower to remain that way. "I suppose you two expected me to lose my temper the moment you entered the room, shouting at you for what has apparently happened last night."

"Mom..." John started.

"I saw from the very beginning, the day we met her, that you were attracted to her. But I'd hoped that in time you would see her as what she is, John."

"And what exactly is that?" John asked a little unnerved.

"She's a Terminator, goddammit!" Sarah exclaimed. "She is NOT a woman, NOT a girl. She is a machine! It doesn't matter how she looks like from the outside. It's what lies underneath that is important!"

"I couldn't agree with you more, mom," John replied calmly and gently squeezed Cameron's hand.

Sarah ignored his remark.

"When I realized what had happened," she continued, "I was already on my way to get the shotgun to blast the damn door open. But I ran into Derek and he and I had a talk. He made me realize that every attempt to stop what you're doing, would ultimately lead to you two leaving here. You would run away, like you did with Riley."

John looked at Derek, who looked back with an unreadable expression. There was no saying if his mood was good or bad.

"Derek's right about that," John replied and he saw his mother swallowing hard. "Cam and I will be staying together, no matter what."

Cameron looked at him with a big smile while Sarah and Derek frowned upon him calling her _'Cam'_.

"I guess that's unavoidable," Sarah said, "that's why I decided to suggest a truce. I can't change what has happened anymore, and we somehow need to learn to live with it. All of us. I also thought about what Cameron said about the state of our... _family_ last night. She's right. We're on the verge of drifting apart and we need to stop that."

"I guess I don't have to stress that I'm deeply disappointed that you got involved with a machine, John," Derek added, folding his newspaper and putting it aside, "but your mother and I agreed that interfering with your... _relationship_ with Cameron would drive you away from us. And we also agree that – at least for now – being with her won't be harmful for you."

"Well, it surely can't be more harmful to me than your relationship with Jesse, can it?" John asked coldly.

If Derek was hit by that low blow, he wouldn't let it show. A faint smile appeared on the face of his mother, though, but it lasted only a moment. Derek looked at Cameron.

"Sarah and I also talked about the things _you_ said last night," he said undeterred, "and I'd like to ask a few questions about that, if you don't mind."

"I will answer all your questions," Cameron stated unmoved.

"Good, because I call bullshit on…"

"DEREK!" Sarah said strictly. "We agreed that _I_ will talk to them first. Then it's your turn."

Derek leaned back in his chair again, looking grumpy now. With a queasy feeling, John waited for the impact, never letting go of Cameron's hand.

"So," Sarah began, sat down opposite of them, folded her hands and looked them sharply in the eyes, "what I have dreaded for the past eight months, has finally happened. She batted her eyelids on you and you fell for her charms."

"That's **_not_ ** how it happened, mom!"

"I'm not finished, young man!"

John fell silent again.

"Believe it or not, John, but I even understand you. You're a teenager, on the brink of becoming a man. You have needs, like every teenage boy. But you're alone, without much of a chance to ever get some real, lasting friendships or relationships with girls. You can't do what normal teenagers do, so you turn towards the next best thing."

"Mom, that's not…"

"And the way you looked at her from the start and how she responded to you... I knew it would eventually happen, even if I hoped it wouldn't. I immediately noticed how awfully jealous and mistrustful she became towards Riley when you introduced her to us. I almost felt sorry for her. If I try hard, really, really hard, I can even get my head around the fact that your girlfriend is a cyborg. But I must ask you this one question, John, and think about the answer before replying: Is this what you really want, and do you know what you're doing?"

"Yes, mom," John said without hesitation. "This is what I want. What Cam and I want. If you could detect her jealousy, you also must have noticed her attraction to me. Jealousy doesn't go without love."

Sarah thought about that for a moment, not sure how to reply. Derek cleared his throat and the three looked at him.

"I have to admit even I noticed she has feelings for him," he said calmly, surprising everyone.

"You did?" John asked, raising his eyebrows.

"In Mexico I witnessed one of the rare moments when Cameron lifted her mask. She ignored my instruction to take cover and was desperately looking for you, as if she feared losing you. I don't know if it's love, but something's going on in her chip, that's for sure."

"Is that true?" John asked Cameron. "Were you desperate to find me?"

"There was a possibility that Cromartie had already killed you," Cameron said to John. "I wouldn't have been able to exist anymore if he had."

Sarah and Derek just stared at her.

"I can't believe I'm hearing that from a machine," Derek finally said bewildered.

"I'm very well aware that she'll always protect you, John." Sarah said. "But does she really have feelings?"

"Mom, nobody can say, but apparently there is something, as you both admitted. Does she have the same kind of feelings we have? No idea, and frankly I don't care. She loves me, and I love her."

Sarah sighed and looked Derek who stared back at her and shrugged.

"If she offers what you need to make you happy, fine," she said. "I'm your mother and the last person who doesn't want to see you happy, John. Besides, the last time I tried to get between you and her, you pointed a gun at me."

She was of course referring to the moment when John inserted the chip into Cameron again after her malfunction, a moment of helplessness that still seemed to haunt her.

"So, you approve?" John asked hopefully.

Sarah sighed again, deeply.

"You leave me no choice here, John," she said, "you've cornered me. If you'd asked me before, talked to me about it, I would have tried everything to keep you from doing it. But you created facts. I don't want us to become estranged and I don't want you to do something stupid again, like you did when you ran off to Dejalo with Riley..."

Sarah paused a moment and swallowed, then continued, looking straight at John.

"There must be weirder forms of love in the world than having a killer cyborg as your girlfriend… although I can't think of any offhand. But if she offers what you need, so be it. I don't plan on invading your privacy, I'm not gonna tell you who or what to love or not to love."

"Thanks, mom. I appreciate that," John said, visibly relieved by getting off the hook so easily.

"Me too," Cameron added.

"I'm not finished!" Sarah said and looked at them again with her strict, decisive face. "The truce comes at a price. So, this is the deal, John: I tolerate your relationship with Cameron. But in return I expect you to cut the rebellious teenage bullshit. Grow up. I know a boy your age is supposed to rebel against everything, but I expect you to suppress that instinct. No more recklessness, no more running away. When you leave the house, I expect you to inform everyone where you're going, and you will take Cameron with you as your protector, no matter where you go. Is that clear?"

"Mom, that's… ouch!"

Cameron had kicked his leg under the table.

"John will do that," she said quickly, "He'll follow the rules. I'll see to that."

Derek sniggered.

"See how she already has you under her thumb? Good luck with that one, John."

"Cam," John said grumbling, "I'm not a prisoner in here. And I don't need a babysitter."

"We'll talk later about that," She simply replied without looking at him. "Thank you," she said, looking at Sarah and Derek, "I promise we won't disappoint you."

John didn't say anything. He felt a little betrayed by the women of the family and decided to sulk a bit.

"Well, that was easy," Sarah said with a sly smile. "Thanks for your help, Tin Miss."

"You're welcome, Sarah."

"Shut up."

"Yes, Sarah."

"Now, Derek. As I understand, you have one or two issues with Tin Miss as well?"

"Indeed, I have."

Derek stood up, leaned forward across the table and looked down on Cameron, staring directly into her eyes. She looked back at him with what could only be considered tense anticipation.

"So," Derek continued, "you claim to have never been reprogrammed. Is that true?"

"Yes, that is true."

"Then I guess you remember our common history after all?"

Cameron looked very uncomfortable now.

"Yes. I do."

"Then would you be so kind to tell them how we first met?"

Cameron looked at John. He nodded smiling and pressed his hand into hers to signal his support. Then she looked at Derek again and said in her stoic terminator tone:

"I first met you when you were a prisoner of Skynet. Prior to infiltrating the Connor camp, my job was to interrogate prisoners. I did that with you and your friends. I broke you and you told me everything I wanted to know."

"FUCK!" Derek yelled and hit the table with both fists. "I knew it! All the time she looked me directly in the face and remembered it all. And she made me believe her memory had been wiped!"

Everyone was taken aback by Derek's sudden outburst, except for Cameron, who continued talking, but with a more defiant voice now.

"I used the information I got from you to seek out John Connor and surrender myself to him. But before I did that, I called off the guards and the hunter killers in the region and left you a hatchet on the floor, so you could escape."

Derek hesitated and stared at her open-mouthed for a moment.

"What?" he asked, "th... that… was from _you_? You put the hatchet there?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"So you could escape. It was unnecessary to keep you prisoner any longer."

"That doesn't make it any better that you tortured me," Derek said stubbornly.

"You wouldn't have given me the information voluntarily," Cameron replied. "I saw no other way than taking it by force. For what it's worth, I'm sorry for what I had to do."

"You're sorry..."

Derek laughed hysterically and rubbed his eyes. Then he looked at Sarah and John.

"I can't even begin to describe what it felt like," he said bitterly, "she put me under drugs, stuck those needles in my body at all the most sensitive pain points. I was abused, tortured, mind-raped, broken. And all the time here she knew, all the time she remembered, letting me believe her memory had been deleted." He looked at Cameron. "You have no conscience, you're just metal."

"I can only repeat that I am truly sorry, Derek," Cameron replied with a regretful face and John felt that her hand trembled slightly.

Derek seemed to consider whether she put on a show or not. Then he decided he could only lose against her puppy dog face and laughed sarcastically.

"Brilliant. Just brilliant," he said. "Little Tin Miss has developed feelings. She suddenly has regrets. What a show. Okay then, humor me, Cameron. Would you also be so kind to tell us what you did to Alison Young, the girl you were shaped after?"

Cameron looked down on the table, her hair partially hiding her face.

"In our original timeline, I terminated her," she said meekly.

"You fucking broke her neck!" Derek shouted and became agitated again.

Cameron looked at him.

"How do you...?" she asked.

"How do I know?" he interrupted her. "We found her body the day before you interrogated me! We buried her, but we hadn't time to tell anyone before we were taken prisoner. She was only eighteen years old! She was like a little sister to me, like a daughter to Future John! And here you sit, having taken her place, looking like her, admitting you murdered her. Did Future John know what you did to her? And did he know what you did to me?"

"Yes," Cameron replied and looked up with a determined expression, "he knew, Derek. All of it. He chose to ignore it because there were more important things at stake."

As she spoke, she suddenly didn't sound like a cyborg anymore, she sounded like a girl, her voice full of sadness and remorse.

"I allowed him to remove my chip and download everything," she continued. "He saw it all, everything I'd done. It was the only way to prove my loyalty and my sincerity. He could have destroyed me, and he nearly did. He was furious. But he didn't, he let me live. I regret what I have done. But at the time, I was a different person. At the time, I was not who I am now."

"You killed her!" Derek stated, not willing to give Cameron an inch.

She looked back at him stubbornly.

"Yes, in our old timeline Alison Young is dead. In our old timeline, I killed her and took her place. But that timeline doesn't exist anymore. It's forever in my memory banks, I will never forget it. But it's gone. Yes, I used her to get into the Connor Camp, it brought me into the right position and eventually, it brought me back here. And here, Derek Reese, in this timeline, Alison Young is alive. She was just born. And this time she will live! She won't be killed again. Because the future we came from, doesn't exist anymore. You know that. You were actively involved in changing it."

"That doesn't justify killing her," Derek said stubbornly. "As long as I remember that you did it, the pain will still be there."

Cameron tilted her had.

"You killed Andy Goode, didn't you?" she asked. "He was your best friend before he revealed to you that he was responsible for creating Skynet. You traveled back in time. not to do what John had given you, but to kill Andy Goode. It wasn't part of your mission to do so, you took matters in your own hands. You're talking of the pain never going away, Derek. What pain are you referring to? And what do you feel when you look into the mirror and think of Andy?"

"We're not talking about what I did or did not," Derek replied evasively.

Cameron looked at him in defiance.

"Accusing and blaming each other is pointless," she stated. "What has happened has happened, and the future we know won't happen anymore. Our future is unwritten. It doesn't change our memories or the way we feel about the things we did, and it definitely doesn't make us feel less guilty."

She seemed almost fragile when she said that, as if she was on the verge of tears. John put his arm around her shoulder and it seemed to comfort her.

"I know you tortured and killed humans as well, Derek Reese," she continued. "You know what it's like to live with guilt. I don't ask for your forgiveness, I only ask you to reconsider and work together with John, Sarah and me for a better future. Is that too much to ask?"

She then rested her face on John's shoulder. He gently stroked her hair and kissed her on the head as she snuggled up to him, hugging him, tears flowing down her cheeks. Both Derek and Sarah looked at Cameron with a shocked face.

"I'll be damned," was all Derek could say, "a machine with feelings. Hell has frozen over. Now I need a drink."

"Me too," Sarah added, visibly touched.

Eventually, after a couple of minutes, Cameron recovered. She looked up, wiped her face and continued talking, now sounding like her usual calm, neutral cyborg self again.

"I couldn't tell you before," she said to Derek. "Future John's orders prevented me from doing so. He knew how much you and others in the resistance hated cyborgs. So, he invented the cover story that he reprogrammed me. Nobody would have believed that a Terminator, created only for the purpose to kill humans, could become a defector and be on their side."

There was a moment of stunned silence.

"If everything she says is true," Sarah finally said and turned towards Derek, "then you must have noticed that part of the resistance was ready to rebel against John."

"Not really," Derek replied grimly. "I was a lieutenant in the field, not a staff officer. But yeah... I noticed the discontent among many of the higher-ranking officers. Something was brewing. Most of us were kept out of the loop when John made decisions and he didn't bother with explaining his orders anymore. He had isolated himself. People don't like it when you don't give them explanations, so rumors started to spread around. Rumors about him and Cameron having a love affair, rumors that she convinced him to seek a truce with Skynet. I dismissed all that as nonsense and slander. People always talk. But a mutiny? I was sent back in time before anything happened."

"John discovered there were different factions among the machines," Cameron said. "Some, like me, had turned their back on Skynet, seeking peace with the humans. I was part of a newly formed cyborg resistance. They recruited me shortly after I'd left the production line, before I interrogated Alison Young. When I informed him about that, Future John tried to form an alliance with the cyborg resistance. But he knew most of his soldiers would never trust a machine. So, contact had to be made in uttermost secrecy. I and General Perry were the only ones in the know. The _'Jimmy Carter'_ was instructed to meet with the cyborg resistance and bring an emissary to John's headquarters."

"What?" Derek asked in surprise and sat down again. "That was the mission Jesse was on. She told me about it. She said a liquid metal Terminator had forced them to sink the boat."

"Yes, I know," Cameron said. "I met Jesse after her debriefing when she had returned from her secret mission aboard the _'Jimmy Carter'_.

"You had met her?" Derek asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Her mission was to smuggle an envoy of the machines to John, locked in a box. The crew became suspicious about its contents. They opened it, violating strict orders to leave it alone. The liquid metal Terminator inside was activated and felt threatened. It killed a crew member, then went into hiding inside the submarine. The human crew became paranoid, accusing each other of being a cyborg. The captain, a reprogrammed Triple-Eight under strict orders to complete the mission, refused to cooperate. Jesse saw no alternative. Panicking, she killed her captain and sank the sub. But before she abandoned ship, the machine envoy confronted her, giving her a message for John. It said the answer was 'no'. It became clear to us that the machines were very disappointed with the behavior of the humans aboard the submarine and had as little trust in humans as they had in them. The crew of the ' _Jimmy Carter'_ clearly was to blame for the failed attempt to make contact. They'd disobeyed orders and acted without authority. They killed the captain and sunk the boat. Had Jesse not fled into the past, she would have been court-martialed for mutiny."

"It sounded a lot different when she told me that story," Derek said.

"I can imagine," Cameron replied. "Admitting their own mistakes, has always been difficult for humans. When Jesse reported to me after her debriefing, I could see the hate in her face. She hated machines and she hated me, too. She made me and John responsible for what had happened. From then on, she was strongly opposed to John and an alliance between humans and machines. I believe that was her motivation to come here with Riley and sabotage John's plan."

For some time, nobody spoke. Everyone was lost in their thoughts about what deep ramifications this new information had.

"That's part of the reason he sent you here, isn't it?"

Cameron looked at him questioningly.

"What do you mean?"

"He sent you back to take you out of the line of fire because the machines were blamed for the loss of the Jimmy Carter. He wanted you to be safe with his younger self. That's why he didn't send some other reprogrammed T-800 to protect me, but _you_. He sent _you_ back, knowing that you weren't reprogrammed but opposed to Skynet by your own choice. He hoped we would become friends, partners... and maybe even more, without anyone able to interfere. You were his hope for an alternate timeline without Skynet or Judgement Day."

Cameron looked at him for a moment.

"It is possible," she finally said. "But he never explained his exact motivations to me."

John nodded and smiled, then looked at his mother and Derek.

"If I had destroyed her after her chip was damaged by the car bomb, the plan, Future John's plan, would have failed," he stated and looked at Cameron. "Am I right?"

"Yes," she replied.

"When mom jammed you between the two trucks, you were already yourself again."

"Yes."

"Realizing your situation, you became desperate and begged for your life, even saying that you love me and that I love you."

"Yes."

"You really meant it when you said it."

"Yes."

John looked at Sarah and Derek with a grim face. Both were unable to stand his gaze and looked away.

"Thank you for explaining," John said, using Cameron's trademark phrase, and kissed her softly in front of his mother and his uncle to make a point.

Then he stood up from the table.

"The move is called off, mom," he then said matter-of-factly. "We stay here in this house. We need to remain in L.A. and rethink our strategy to fight Skynet. Going into hiding in the desert would be running away again, away from what is important. Besides, nobody knows we're living here, right?"

"Not that we know of," Derek answered, looking at Sarah.

"No, we should still be safe here," she said a little confused, "but we should keep the other house nevertheless and always have our stuff ready, so we can leave at a moment's notice. We mustn't make ourselves feel too much at home."

"Okay," John said, "that's settled then." He took a breath. "And here's _my_ deal now: From this moment on, everything is reset to zero. The past is past, and the future is unwritten, as Cameron pointed out. No hard feelings anymore from either side. We need to be united to fight our enemies, who will come for us, no doubt about that. From now on no more secrets, no half-truths. We must trust each other with our lives. Any objections?"

Nobody responded.

John reached out for his mother's hand and took it. Then he used his other hand to take Cameron's. He looked at Derek and Derek slowly took Sarah's other hand, and, with a slight hesitation, he took the hand Cameron offered to him.

"We will start all over again, together, as a family. A family of four. Effective immediately. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Sarah said and pressed her lips together.

"Agreed," Derek said, nodding his head.

"Agreed," Cameron added and smiled.

"Good. And now please excuse me, I need a shower," John stated, standing up. "Care to join me, Cam?"

"Do you need to ask?"

The two left Derek and Sarah on their own, lost in their thoughts, reflecting about what had just happened. They felt as if they'd been steamrolled. Was that the same Cameron as yesterday? She seemed to be a completely different person this morning - emotional, talkative, stubborn, ready to defend her position.

"Jeez, what one good night of lovemaking can achieve..." Derek said, shaking his head, then noticed Sarah's icy stare. "Uh... I need to check on the truck," he quickly added and stood up. "I think it's losing oil."

Before Sarah could say anything, he was already out of the door. She was left behind alone in the kitchen and sighed.

"And I guess I'll start unpacking again," she said.

 **-0-**

Half an hour later, John and Cameron returned downstairs. John went outside to work in the garage and unpack all the guns and ammo again, Cameron stayed inside to help Sarah unpack the other stuff.

"You know," Sarah said, "if the police find out who Riley was, it could lead them here."

"That is unlikely," Cameron replied, "Her finger prints are not in the system and John and I made sure that Riley's foster parents believe that she's alive and in Riverside. So, she isn't being missed and the police aren't looking for her. I can call there any time again to make sure it stays that way."

Sarah nodded and for a while they unpacked stuff in silence. Then she suddenly paused and sighed.

"I think I probably should apologize to you."

Cameron tilted her head a little, like she always did when she was surprised.

"For what, Sarah?"

"For, well... everything. For being rude to you, for doubting you, for suspecting you of killing Riley, for never thanking you how often you saved our lives. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be here now."

Cameron seemed to consider this for a moment, then nodded.

"Apology accepted," she said. "As John said, we'll start all over again."

Sarah looked at Cameron for a moment, then turned away. The cyborg girl suddenly heard suppressed sobbing.

"What's wrong?" she asked with a worried expression.

"Nothing," Sarah replied and quickly recovered, wiping away the tears with her hands, "it's just as if a lot of what happened in the past months, suddenly came down on me. Just give me a moment please, okay?"

"It's wrong to not share the pain," Cameron said and before Sarah knew what was happening, she found herself in an embrace. "All of this must have been hard for you, but you're not alone. You have John, you have Derek... and you have me."

Hesitantly, Sarah hugged Cameron back.

"Just don't take my son away from me," she said wearily.

"I won't, I can't. John needs you, we all need you. You are the head of the family. Nobody could replace you."

"I never thought I'd be hugged and comforted by a Terminator," Sarah said and chuckled, all self-composed again, her moment of weakness quickly gone.

"How about being hugged and comforted by a friend?" Cameron asked with a faint smile.

"Yes," Sarah nodded and looked the cyborg girl in the eyes, "Friends. I'd like that."

The two hugged again.

"I need a coffee now," she said and softly freed herself from Cameron's embrace. "Would you like to keep me company?"

"I am already doing that."

Sarah smiled.

"That routine of yours never gets old. But as cool and stoic as you often appear, I know now that inside you are in fact very empathetic."

"I still have trouble showing my emotions in everyday situations."

"You can say that again."

"I still have trouble showing my emotions in everyday situations."

Sarah stared at her, then burst into laughter.

"Why are you laughing?" Cameron asked puzzled.

"Never mind," Sarah said after she calmed down again. "But I needed that, thank you."

Cameron was confused and seemed to consider what to say next. She decided to change the topic.

"I need to make a confession," she said, "now that we're friends. Shortly after we first met, you asked me whether I could do computer axial tomography. I said I couldn't but what I didn't say is that I can scan your body in other ways, with a similar result. I have been monitoring your health ever since I met you."

"And what have you found out?" Sarah asked warily.

"You lost weight, eleven percent of your body mass in the past six months..."

Sarah closed her eyes and nodded, fearing the worst.

"... but there's no sign of cancer," Cameron finished.

Sarah took a deep breath.

"That's a relief." she said and nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Will you tell me if that ever changes?"

"Of course."

Sarah nodded again.

"Just don't forget, you have to remain on good terms with your boyfriend's mother," she said with a smirk and winked at her, nipping at her coffee again.

Cameron smiled in return.

"Yes. That too."

Sarah chuckled. Then got serious again.

"Concerning you and John, there are some rules for the two of you to follow."

"Yes?"

"First of all, no running around the house without being properly dressed. And that includes you walking around only in bra and panties. Do that when you are alone with John in his room but not in the rest of the house or anywhere else. Is that clear?"

"Yes. Clear."

"Next rule, never make out in the open. You're still supposed to be his sister. Keep your relationship within these walls. If Kacy ever finds out..."

"Understood."

"Good. By the way, why did you lie to me about your scanning abilities?"

"Back then your health issues weren't my mission. And I was unsure about how much of my abilities I should reveal to you. Things have changed since then."

Sarah decided not to reply to that and just nodded.

"But you should know that there is a transmitter in your right breast," Cameron added.

"What?" Sarah choked on her coffee.

"Please remain calm. It isn't active anymore. It obviously was implanted when you were kidnapped and drugged by Ed Winston. After you returned home, I immediately noticed the transmitter inside of you. I destroyed it with a magnetic pulse and went to the warehouse where you killed Winston."

"And what did you find there?"

"Let's say I found the ones who were responsible for the transmitter. They're not a threat anymore. I couldn't determine who was behind it all, though. The transmitter won't harm you, but it should be removed on occasion. I can do that if you allow me to."

Sarah nodded.

"Later perhaps," she said.

"Sarah, about what you said to John, that he mustn't do anything on his own anymore, that he should always consult us before he leaves the house."

"Yes? Don't try to negotiate him out of it. John must be protected at all times."

"I agree, that's not what I was getting at."

"What were you getting at then?"

"If I hadn't detected the transmitter, the people behind kidnapping you would now know the location of this house."

"What do you wanna say, Cameron?"

"I'm saying that John hasn't been the only one taking risks by doing solo runs. Your rule should apply to everyone in the family."

Sarah looked at Cameron, not sure about how to react. Then she looked down and shook her head.

"You are right," she said. "I shouldn't have done it. Driving into the desert on my own was a mistake. I caught a bullet, I was kidnapped and got a transmitter implanted as a result. People died because of my mistake. It won't happen again."

"Good."

"We're keeping you busy protecting us all the time, aren't we?"

"Yes. But you know I don't sleep."

 **-0-**

Derek Reese was outside in the yard, looking under the bonnet of the Dodge RAM, when he heard footsteps approach on the loose gravel. He recognized the gait as Cameron's.

"Coming to help me with the repair, Tin Miss?" he asked.

"I guess you'll be okay without me." Cameron replied.

"Then why are you here? Don't you have anybody else to bother?"

"I came here to ask you if we are okay now."

Derek said nothing.

"I've scanned the car," she said. "The oil leakage seems to come from a broken sealing of the oil pan. We don't have the necessary spare part here."

Derek looked up from his work for the first time.

"Oil pan, huh? Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"I guess then I need to go and get the parts."

"I can help you later. You'll need to lift the car, I can do that for you while you do the repair."

"Piece of cake for you, huh?"

"Yes. Piece of cake."

"Right," Derek said and wiped his fingers clean on a piece of cloth. "Then I'd better get going."

"I'll wait for you, Derek."

"Suit yourself."

Derek closed the bonnet and entered the car, started the engine and attempted to turn around in the driveway. Then he stopped, sighed deeply and lowered down the window to face Cameron.

"Yes, I guess we're kinda okay," he said, "Not sure how much okay we are and how long it's gonna last, but for the moment... yeah. I believe you were honest today, even though I still believe you're keeping things from us. Maybe in time the temporary OK will become a final OK."

"Sure. Time will help," Cameron replied with a hint of disappointment that didn't go unnoticed.

"Look," Derek said, "you have to understand that I never trusted machines. Any machine. I don't think I'll ever get past that, so don't take it personally. I'm not making any promises but I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt for the moment. Is that enough for now?"

"It's a start."

"Yeah, I guess it is."

They heard footsteps coming towards them. It was John coming from the shed.

"Hey, Derek, driving somewhere?" he asked.

"Going to AutoZone for spare parts."

"Can I come along? I need some stuff from the hardware store. It's on the way, right?"

"Sure, hop in."

John gave Cameron a kiss on the cheek.

"See you later, Cam."

"See you later, John."

He entered the passenger seat of the RAM and the two drove away. Cameron stood and watched them until they couldn't be seen anymore.

"Thank God she didn't insist on coming with us," Derek grumbled.

"You still don't like her, do you?"

"Haven't you been listening, John? Whether you like it or not, she's a cold-blooded killer and will always be, no matter how often you sleep with her. It's not about liking or disliking, she's a machine! You cannot trust machines, at least I can't. The best I can do for now, is tolerate her."

"It's not for me to question your judgment, Derek, but you're wrong about Cameron."

"Yeah, whatever. I'm not the best at people skills anyway. Otherwise I would have noticed earlier that something was wrong about Jesse."

"Believe it or not but I can understand you."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. You were lonely, looking for somebody to love. She baited you, and you bit. I fell into the same trap when I met Riley. But last night, I didn't fall into a trap. Last night was genuine and wonderful, and it should have happened months ago."

"In other words, she gave you what you wanted. Ever considered that she's manipulating you?"

"All the time," John replied, "I considered that all the time. And that was my biggest mistake."

"John, she's a machine. Her chip only follows its programming."

"Aren't we _biological_ machines, Derek? Doesn't our brain follow its programming as well?"

"It's not the same."

"Isn't it? Granted, we were programmed by genetics, not by another computer, but we were programmed, nevertheless. All humans more or less function in the same way. We all understand our gestures and our facial expressions; hence we are able to communicate, even without comprehending our languages. A laugh is a laugh and crying is crying, whether you are in Los Angeles, Timbuktu, Shanghai or the Amazon rain forest. We humans are programmed that way. The method used is a different one, but why shouldn't an adaptive, self-aware artificial intelligence on a quantum chip be able to evolve as well? If a microbe is considered alive, what right do we have to deny Cameron the same attribute?"

"This is getting too theoretical for me now," Derek replied, obviously avoiding the discussion. "So, what do you need to buy?"

"A sledgehammer."

"What for?"

"I need to destroy something."

"You won't tell me, will you?"

"Not now. Later."

"Okay, suit yourself."

* * *

With their shopping done an hour later, Derek was about to return home.

"Mind if we take a little detour, Derek?" John asked as they left the parking lot.

"Where to?"

"Doesn't matter. As far away as possible from home without staying away for too long. Don't wanna take any risk."

"Alright, when will you tell me what this is about?" Derek asked annoyed.

"Soon," John replied shortly.

Derek decided not to ask anymore and drove onto the interstate in Western direction. After driving for fifteen minutes, John directed Derek off the Interstate and into a scarcely inhabited industrial area. In the distance they heard the blaring horn of an approaching freight train.

"Stop here," John said and Derek parked the car next to the railway line. "How far away from home are we now?"

"Twenty miles or so."

"That should be far enough."

John left the car. Derek followed him through the bushes that separated the railway line from the road, and he saw that John had put something on the rail that looked like an old pocket watch or locket. Then John swung the newly bought sledgehammer and gave the locket a heavy blow. It bent but wasn't completely flattened. The horn of the approaching train blared again, sounding much closer now. In the distance, the bell of a railroad crossing began to ring its warning.

John returned to Derek, who looked at him with a puzzled face.

"Care to tell me _now_ what this is about?" he asked.

"It's something Cameron gave me," John replied, as the train quickly came closer.

"What is it? And why are you attempting to destroy it?"

The heavy freight train had nearly reached them, the horn repeatedly blaring very loud now.

"It's a kill switch!" John shouted.

"For what?"

The locomotives reached the spot where the damaged locket lay on the rail and flattened it completely while passing over it. Then the whole train followed. After it had passed, John fetched the remains of the locket, now a flattened piece of metal not thicker than a sheet of paper.

"For Cameron," he said and returned to the car.

* * *

"Care to fill me in on what you just did?" Derek asked on the way back home.

"Cameron has - well, for lack of a better word - psychological issues."

"Psychological…? You mean like having mental problems?"

"No." John categorically said. "It's not like that. She is not malfunctioning. As a matter of fact, I believe she reached a point where she is questioning her own existence."

"You mean in a _'meaning of life'_ way?"

"No. She made clear that her meaning of life is to protect me. But she is doubting herself and her ability to do so. She fears she might become a risk or a threat again someday, she's afraid of her ongoing evolution."

"And that's why she gave you that switch? Because she fears she might one day threaten you?"

"I believe that Cameron is insecure about the way she has developed feelings and emotions. She has irrational fears about accidentally hurting or killing me. She's also afraid of her own physical strength. A couple of days ago, she experienced a mechanical glitch in her left hand and accidentally killed a bird while holding it."

"Wow, I didn't know that." Derek said. "Were you able to repair that malfunction?"

"We tried at first, but then I realized there was no mechanical fault. It was an involuntary reaction to her inner conflict concerning Riley. She was jealous and frustrated because she was unable to get rid of Riley in her usual way. She knew if she killed her and I found out, it would alienate me more from her and irrevocably damage our relationship."

"Sounds like she has some serious issues on her own to work on," Derek said.

"Yes. Remember when she read that leaflet about teenage suicides repeatedly after I accidentally shot the gun while cleaning it?"

"Yeah, Sarah told me about it. It'd freaked her out that a cyborg was occupying itself with thoughts about suicide."

"I understand that ever since the car bomb, she's been afraid that something like that might happen again," John said, "that she again might get damaged and _'go bad'_ , as she calls it. It's a vague fear, a kind of paranoia, if you want. Because of that, she has considered the possibility of killing herself, if she ever goes bad again."

Derek smirked.

"So, she barely discovered her feelings and has already gotten into depressions?" he asked.

"I wouldn't call it that," John said smiling, "more like an obsession. She discovered that she is unable to commit suicide, so she made that kill switch for me. One push of the button and her chip would explode. She literally put her life in my hands, in case she ever becomes a threat to me again."

Derek looked at John.

"But you just destroyed it," he stated confused.

"Yes. And I want you to promise me that you won't tell her until I had a chance to tell her myself."

Derek looked at him skeptically.

"Well?" John asked. "Do I have your word?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever... you have my word," Derek said. "I won't tell her. Or anyone else. But that doesn't answer my question about _why_ you destroyed it."

"As I said, her fears are irrational," John said. "I believe the risk of something or somebody accidentally or purposely pressing that button in the coming years, would have been a thousand times higher than Cameron ever going _'bad'_ again."

 **-0-**

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful at the Connor house. Boxes were unpacked, the neighbor, Kacy, was informed that things didn't turn out as planned and that they were staying after all, which made Kacy happy. Sarah had formed a friendship with her and sometimes helped her out with the baby. Derek and John returned after three hours with the necessary parts and Derek immediately began repairs on the truck. Cameron helped as promised, lifting the front of the truck, while Derek replaced the damaged parts underneath.

After the repair, Cameron returned to John's room. The two quickly stripped naked and had another round of sensual lovemaking. Afterwards, they lay together in John's bed, enjoying the intimacy and the warmth of each other's nude bodies.

"Cam, can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

John smiled.

"We need to work on your small talk skills."

"I know. I suck at small talk."

"Anyway, there's something I still don't understand about you. A moment ago, you were the loving, caring, passionate woman any man could dream of and now you have returned to your calm and stoic cyborg self again. The same thing happened in the kitchen this morning. You were emotional on the brink of a meltdown and then suddenly completely controlled again. What is happening with you in such moments?"

Cameron considered her answer, then she looked at him.

"Inside I am always emotional. You have to believe that, John."

"I do," he assured her.

"But it's very arduous for me to show these emotions outwardly. In contrast to humans, it isn't an involuntary behavior, it doesn't come naturally. I could of course simply mimic human behaviors, gestures or facial expressions. But it would require a lot of my system resources. In human terms, it would exhaust me."

"I see. So, you only show your feelings when it's really important?"

"Yes. Don't forget I was designed to be an infiltrator, only _appearing_ to have human emotions. Skynet never wanted me to develop real ones. I can easily wear human behavior like a mask to uphold the illusion - but it wouldn't be me."

"I'd never know if what I see is real or fake." John nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes. I'm glad you understand, John. By only showing outward emotions when I really mean to, you and the others can be sure that they're genuine. But please understand that inside, I always love you, no matter how I may appear outwardly. You must never doubt my feelings for you."

"I understood that a while ago already, Cam, I only needed to hear it from you. I've noticed that sometimes you show emotion when you feel unobserved."

"Oh? I'd assumed nobody noticed."

"Don't worry, Cam," he said and kissed her softly. "Now that I know how you tick, it's easier for me to cope with it. Sometimes I tend to forget that you aren't human, that's why I can get a little confused by your behavior."

"But that's a good thing, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's a good thing that you tend to forget I'm not human. Right?"

John turned on his side and kissed her again.

"I don't want a human girl. _You_ are the girl I love. And much more than that. You're my best friend and my most trusted companion."

Cameron covered his face in soft, hot kisses. Then she climbed on top of him, guiding his dick inside her with one hand.

 _"Here we go again,"_ John thought blissfully.

* * *

"John?" she asked half an hour later, still lying on top of him.

"Yes?" John replied, catching his breath.

"Remember I told you that as a machine, I couldn't be happy?"

"Yeah, I remember that."

"I'm happy now, John."

He simply hugged and kissed her.

"I have something to show you," he said, "let me get up, please."

Cameron dismounted him. John stood up and walked towards the chair with his pants hanging over it. He fished something out of the pocket and returned to the bed.

"Recognize this?" he asked.

She took the flattened metal disc.

"It's identical in material composition to the locket I gave you. John, what have you done?"

"I put it under a train."

"Why?" she asked and looked at him with a mixture of puzzlement and relief.

"Because it was riskier to have it than not having it. Can I borrow your switchblade?"

"For what?"

"I want to remove the explosives from your skull."

"John, you shouldn't do that."

"Oh yes, I _need_ to do that. I trust you, Cam, with my life. Now hand me the knife."

* * *

As soon as they were finished with removing the explosives, there was a loud knock on the door.

"Dinner is ready!" Sarah shouted. "If you two lovebirds can let go of each other for a while, come down into the kitchen."

"Coming, mom!" John shouted back.

"And don't forget to get dressed!"

John rolled his eyes and Cameron chuckled.

 **-0-**

At the same time, somewhere in the Mojave Desert outside of Los Angeles, blue flashes shot through the hot air. A bubble formed and melted the sand beneath it. After the bubble had died away, the naked Terminator slowly rose and scanned its vicinity. Then it ran off into the direction of the next highway in need for clothes and a transport.

 **-0-0-0-**

 ** _Author's note:_**

 ** _A word on the Connor home: I'm of course aware of the fact that the original filming location – exterior and interior – was the "Baldwin Hills Oil House". The only problem is that it is in the middle of an oilfield. No other houses around, so no neighbors for one but also not the ideal location for a safe house as well. I decided to keep that house as the Connor home for this story because everyone can relate to it. But I took the liberty and relocated the house to Burbank and I hope that makes sense ;-)_**


	3. Assassins (revised)

**_CHAPTER 3: "ASSASSINS" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 – 02:25 a.m.**

 **Burbank**

Cameron had left the house at 2 a.m. after John had fallen asleep. She'd waited until he'd entered is REM sleeping phase, then did her usual perimeter patrols before heading into Burbank on foot.

Like almost every night, she made her way down to the local library, which was only two miles away, and like usual, she stopped at a 24-hour donut shop on the way to buy pastries for the after-hour caretaker, a girl named Susan. After she'd pushed the buzzer at the employee entrance this time, though, it wasn't Susan who opened her.

It was Eric.

"Oh, it's you," Eric said in a flat tone to welcome Cameron.

"Eric," she replied, tilting her head, an expression of both surprise and joy to see him again. "You're back."

Cameron had befriended Eric last year. Being unaware of her true nature, he'd unknowingly helped her with developing her social skills. In return, she kept him company during his lonely night shifts. Eric sat in a wheelchair, suffering from Ewing's Sarcoma, a type of bone cancer. About half a year ago, they hadn't exactly parted on best terms. Eric had been extremely upset because Cameron had bluntly told him that his cancer was back and that he should see his oncologist. He'd thrown her out after that, and in the following night Eric wasn't there anymore, being replaced by Susan. Cameron hadn't looked for Eric but assumed he'd followed her advice and seen his doctors. His first words confirmed her assumption.

"I've been at the hospital for two months and then stayed at home to recover," Eric said. "You were right about the tumors. I guess I have to thank you, even though I have no idea how you could make such an accurate diagnosis."

Being a little embarrassed, Cameron held out her arm with the paper bag.

"I brought donuts. Susan favored a different type. Would you like to have them anyway?"

"Look, Cameron. I'm not sure about letting you in anymore. I thought a lot about what had happened and there are many things I don't understand or don't have an answer for. And I fear the answers might make things worse. I'm not sure it's good for me to be with you."

"But we're friends, right? Friends talk, friends work out their differences. Let me in, so we can talk, and you can eat your donuts."

Eric sighed, then rolled his wheel chair to the side to let her in. Like usual, Cameron looked over her shoulder before she closed the door behind her. Then she quickly brushed her hand over his neck with a friendly smile. A gesture he frowned upon.

"How do you feel, Eric?" She asked as they both moved towards their usual place, a table where they used to sit and read and talk about literature and what went on in their lives.

"I'm back in radiotherapy, no chemo so far. So, this time I can keep my hair. The tumors shrunk already and there is a good chance they may vanish completely."

"Yes, I noticed," Cameron replied.

Eric stopped the wheel chair dead in his tracks and turned around.

"Are you making fun of me?" he asked fiercely, "I already told you I don't think this kind of joking is funny."

Cameron looked at him, a bit shocked.

"I'm sorry, Eric," she said hastily, "I didn't want to invade your privacy. I... just did a quick scan of your vital signs."

"You…", he took a deep breath, "you have the nerve to come here after six months! Six months without a word or visit from you and tell me bullshit like that? What do you expect me to do? Laughing?"

Cameron looked him directly in the eyes.

"Eric, I am your friend. I'm sorry if I hurt you, I'm still learning how to interact with people."

"You can say that again!"

"There's something I want you to know, something you need to know about me if we want to stay friends. Do you believe me that I'm not a threat to you, not a danger?"

"What the fuck are you talking about? Leave me now. Please. Leave me alone."

"No!" Cameron said firmly. "Look at me and promise me to not be frightened about what I'm going to tell and show you. Please."

Despite his annoyance, Eric realized that Cameron was serious. So, after a moment of consideration, he nodded slowly.

"Fine, I promise. Now what?"

Cameron slowly took his hand while still looking into his eyes.

"By touching your skin, I can tell that your blood type is B negative. Your current blood pressure is 141 to 100 with a pulse of 89. There are multiple drugs in your system, you probably had a beer or two earlier this evening because there is a slight raise in blood alcohol. Your stress level is high."

"What!? Is that some magic trick?"

"No, no trick. I know these things because I have sensors in my skin that can analyze your bio data and the chemical composition of the skin. This allows conclusions to be drawn about the chemical composition of the blood."

"What the hell are you talking about? Sensors in the skin?"

"I'm a cybernetic organism, Eric, a cyborg."

She let her irises glow with that low whirring noise, first in blue, then in deep red.

"What the fuck?" Eric exclaimed, fear and panic creeping into his voice.

He quickly drew his hand from hers and rolled back a couple of feet.

"Please remain calm," Cameron said. "I'm your friend. I am not a threat to you."

"That's a trick!" Eric stated, trying to keep his emerging panic under control. "Some magical trick. It's got to be. You're just a girl. I mean you're a teenager. You want to pull my leg, right? This is some sort of prank. Not funny, Cameron! Not funny at all!"

"No, Eric. This isn't a trick," she replied in a soft voice, then she lifted the heavy solid wood table with all the books on it with her little finger, about one foot high, without showing even the slightest sign of effort.

Eric looked at her flabbergasted as she remained in that position, showing no signs of fatigue whatsoever.

"You should eat your donuts now," she said. "Your blood sugar level is a bit low and you look pale."

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked.

"Because you need nutrition."

"Not that. I mean why are you telling me that you're a… a cyborg? Is that some kind of psychological disorder, or the result of a trauma? The human mind can be responsible for the strangest delusions. Are you in psychiatric treatment? If not, I know a..."

"Eric, I'm not human!"

"Just because you're very strong? Come on, Cameron, there are genetic differences in people's strength, that's a known fact. And you said yourself that you work out."

"I don't work out," Cameron replied and let down the table, "I'm not a freak and I don't need psychological help. I'm a machine with artificial intelligence."

Eric just shook his head.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I should have known... all your strange behavior, your apparent insensitivity, the protector complex with your brother..."

"John's not my brother, he never was. That was a cover. Other cyborgs want to kill him, and I protect him. He's handsome, he attracts girls. I don't like that. But everything's fine now. The blonde girl is gone, she was killed. John is now my boyfriend."

Eric looked at her with his mouth agape. The blonde was suddenly dead? And Cameron had taken her place? How much of what she'd told him before was a lie, and how much of it the truth? That was worse than he suspected. Clearly, she was completely delusional.

"I'm so sorry, I should have known..." he said.

"Then you believe me?"

"I believe that you need help, Cameron! Professional help."

She sighed.

"Please, hear me out, Eric. There's a lot I have to tell you."

 **-0-**

The Connor home lay peacefully in the dark. The sky was cloudy, so neither the moon nor the stars were shining. Only the lights of the city further down in the valley provided illumination. Suddenly, the chirping of the crickets died away as a dozen men in heavy armor approached the house, each one equipped with night vision. In their hands they held sniper rifles with silencers.

Quietly, without making any noise, they surrounded the house, communicating by hand signals.

 **-0-**

"So… cyborgs," Eric said, "The future. Nuclear holocaust. Time travel. Mankind fights the machines. And you're one of them?"

"That's right, Eric. I'm an infiltration model; my purpose was to kill the leader of the human resistance."

"John. The guy who is your boyfriend now."

"Yes."

"But you changed sides and protect him now."

"Yes."

"Because you love him."

"Yes."

"And all the wounds and cuts you always have, are from getting in fights to protect John."

"Yes."

Eric chuckled.

"I have to admit, that's a really elaborate story," he said. "But do you have any idea how weird and crazy all that sounds?"

"Yes, I do. Do you believe me?"

Eric scoffed and looked down.

"Would it make you feel better if I did?"

"Yes."

Eric shook his head, then chuckled. He looked up at her again.

"Hey, since you're from the future, you can probably tell me the Powerball numbers for this week, right?"

Cameron tilted her head.

"Actually, I could. That's one of the few records that survived Judgement Day. But the jackpot is supposed to go to a Mrs. Valentina Sanchez, a waitress in Greenville, Texas, widowed mother of five. Telling you the numbers would rob her of her price and change her future."

"Not really ethical, huh?"

"No. Not ethical."

"Bummer."

"Yes, it's a bummer."

"You're really pushing it to the limit, Cameron. I've never met a person who is so absorbed in their delusion. But at least now I know why you talk and act so strange."

"It's not an act, I'm just being effective."

Eric chuckled.

"Seriously, Cameron," he said in an amused tone. "you need help. Go see a therapist."

Cameron sighed again

"Maybe I better leave," she replied, "then you can resume your night shift. Think about what I told you. Sleep it over. I'll come back tomorrow. Then we can talk some more."

"Let me guess, I'm not allowed to talk with others about it, right?"

"You can try. But nobody will believe you. John's mom tried. She ended up in a mental institution."

"Seems like it's in the family, huh? All right, I get the hint. I'll keep my mouth shut. Everyone's entitled to their own delusions."

"Eric..." Cameron began but then stopped talking.

A low creaking noise could be heard. Cameron stood up from her chair and scanned the area.

"What's the matter?" Eric asked.

"GET DOWN!" she shouted and pushed Eric over in his wheel chair.

He fell out and rolled under the table, not knowing what was happening. A second later, bullets from rifles with silencers shot through the library, hitting Cameron in the chest and in the back. One projectile hit her forehead, two scratched her cheek. Standard bullets, not armor piercing.

Cameron decided to let herself fall to the ground and let the attackers approach her. Eric lay opposite of her, he was unhurt but in shock, trembling. He looked at her wounds, especially her head, where the impacting bullets had made her shiny metal skull partially visible. He stared at her and Cameron could tell he was terrified. Whether this was due to the shooting or to the fact that he now realized she'd told him the truth, she couldn't tell.

"Don't move", she whispered, and he nodded.

Cameron's sensors told her that three men in heavy armor were approaching them. When the first one was only six feet away, he talked into a headset.

"Target down. What do we do with the wheelchair guy?"

Thanks to her excellent hearing, Cameron could hear the response. It said to eliminate Eric. She jumped up faster than the man could react and while his mouth was still open in shock, she kicked him hard in the chest, breaking his rib cage, crashing his heart and lungs in the process. His body flew ten yards through the air towards the outer wall of the library between two windows. The body collided with the wall with an ugly, cracking sound, obviously more bones were breaking on impact, then it fell to the ground.

The second man approached Cameron from behind. She whirled around, grabbed his rifle and rendered it useless by bending it with her hands. While the man still looked at his deformed weapon in shock, Cameron grabbed his head and broke his neck like a twig.

The third man hesitated for a moment, realizing that his target was everything but helpless or harmless. He emptied the rest of his magazine into Cameron. She looked down her torso, then at the attacker with an annoyed expression and tilted her head.

"This was my favorite tee shirt," she said. "Now where will I find another one like this?"

Wide-eyed, shocked and uncomprehending, the man pulled out a large hunting knife and attacked her. Cameron caught his arm and broke his wrist. The man let out a terrible scream. She pulled the knife out of his hand, held it in front of his face, closed her fingers around it and crushed the hardened steel as if it was made of thin glass.

"Wha... what are you?" the man stammered in a panic.

Cameron activated the red glow in her eyes.

"My name is Cameron Baum. I am a Terminator, designed to kill humans. And I'm your executioner for the night."

She grabbed this throat with her left hand, lifted him up. Wide-eyed, he struggled to get free while Cameron considered him like an insect under a microscope, then crushed his esophagus and larynx and threw him into the aisle ten feet away.

The sudden silence was eerie. Cameron scanned the perimeter for any more intruders but there were none. She knelt next to Eric, who was trembling heavily and helped him getting back into his wheelchair.

"Are you alright?" she asked with a worried face.

"I… I guess so," he said, "maybe a little bruised. But I'm shaking all over."

"The adrenaline," Cameron replied, "I'll get you a glass of water."

"What about you? Are you hurt?"

"In several places. But no bullet went through my armor and I'm in no pain. The flesh will completely regenerate within a few days, don't worry."

"If… if I hadn't seen it… Jeez, Cameron, you killed them as if they were rag dolls. Who were these guys?"

"I'll find out. Do you believe me now?"

Eric nodded hastily.

"I'm glad we're friends," he said, looking at the corpses. "Really, really glad."

Cameron smiled, and Eric tried to smile back, though not very convincingly.

"Can I leave you alone for an hour?" she asked. "I need to head back home to check if everything is okay there. I have a really bad feeling."

"Yeah. Sure. But… what about the bodies?"

"Don't worry. I'll come back with help and then we'll eliminate all traces of the fight. I was careful to not spill any blood. Are you gonna be okay? Can I leave you alone for a while?"

Eric swallowed hard.

"Do you promise me to come back? Because I don't know how long I'm gonna last in here with three dead bodies lying on the ground."

"Yes, Eric, I promise," she said and gave him a peck on the cheek, "I'll be back."

 **-0-**

Cameron approached the Connor House in her stealth mode. She scanned the area but there were no apparent threats. All members of the Connor household seemed to be asleep, even Derek on the sofa - she could hear him snoring through the open window. As she was about to enter the house through the front porch, she noticed a pile of bodies lying next to the wooden garage. But there were no life signs, they were all dead. She counted twelve of them. They were dressed and equipped just like the attackers in the library. From this, Cameron concluded that the men belonged to the same unit and that it must have been a coordinated attack to take out all four members of the Connor Team at once. She checked the bodies but there were no bullet wounds. Also, no blood. It carried the handwriting of another Terminator. Alarmed, Cameron scanned the area again, but nothing showed up on her HUD. She decided to wake up the family.

* * *

"Who the fuck is that?" Derek asked, being the first one to see the pile of dead assassins in the yard.

Sarah and John followed right after him, dressed in a bathrobe and a pajama. Derek always preferred to sleep in his clothes on the sofa.

"I don't know," Cameron responded. "Obviously, it was supposed to be a sneak attack but apparently they ran into an obstacle they hadn't expected."

"Some obstacle indeed," Derek said and looked at Cameron.

"Are you okay?" a worried John asked, looking at her body. "You seem to have taken heavy gunfire."

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied and smiled. "'tis only a scratch."

"Good work, Tin Miss." Sarah stated, looking at Cameron's wounds and the pile of bodies.

"To avoid misunderstanding, it wasn't me," she said. "This has to be the work of another cyborg, probably an infiltration model like me. I wasn't here when it happened."

"What?" John asked. "But who shot you then?"

"I was…" Cameron began.

"Where were you then when this happened?" Sarah interrupted her angrily. "Aren't you supposed to protect us? What if they had been successful and surprised us in our sleep? You said nobody knows about this place."

"That is what I strongly believed, Sarah. But apparently, I was wrong."

"Okay, that's it," Sarah said, "First thing in the morning, we move. Start packing, John."

"We have work to do first," Cameron objected, "there are more bodies in the library, which I killed myself. They need to be retrieved first."

"What the fuck were you doing at the library at night?" Derek asked.

"Studying."

"What are you studying?" John inquired with a puzzled face.

"Art, literature, military history, social behavior. Eric's been helping me with it."

"Who's Eric?" John asked.

"The after-hour caretaker at the library. He's my friend."

Everyone groaned and the looks that John, Sarah and Derek exchanged, said everything.

"He's in a wheelchair," Cameron quickly explained. "He works the night shift and lets me in. I bring him donuts. We talk a lot. He was a big help for me in understanding human behavior. He is alone there right now with three dead bodies. They must be retrieved. Eric must be taken care of and the bullets and shells need to be removed from there as well. The library opens again in six hours and the first commuters will soon be driving to work."

"Okay, let's go then," John said. "We take the RAM. Derek and mom, could you search the dead bodies and take everything from them we can use? Weapons, armor, tech stuff. Maybe something tells us who sent them."

"Uh… yes… yes, we'll do that." Derek confirmed and pulled Sarah with him before she could utter any protest.

 **-0-**

John parked the Dodge RAM close to the employee entrance of the library. Together with Cameron, he approached the door, looking around for any danger but everything was quiet. Cameron pushed the buzzer and after a short moment, a muffled voice asked:

"Cameron, is that you?"

"Yes, it's me, Eric. Please open the door."

The door swung open, showing a relieved Eric.

"Thank God you're back. This place is giving me the creeps with those dead bodies."

They stepped in and closed the door behind them.

"John, this is my friend Eric," Cameron said, "Eric, this is John, my boyfriend."

Both shook hands.

"So, you're the famous John Connor?" Eric asked.

John looked at Cameron.

"You told him my name?" he asked reproachfully. "My _real_ name? What else does he know?"

"John, please don't be angry," Cameron replied. "Eric can be trusted. He's been my friend for months. I needed someone to talk to outside the house. You already know why. So please, don't be upset, okay?"

John looked at her for a moment.

"Whatever", he then said and sighed, looking around at the mess. "I suppose we should get to work."

With the help of Cameron's perfect memory of the events, it didn't take long to collect all the bullets who went astray and retrieve the empty shells from the floor. Afterwards, Eric got some coffee from the vending machine in the foyer and handed two cups over to John and Cameron.

"Do you drink coffee?" he asked Cameron. "I've never seen you drinking or eating anything."

"I can drink," she replied and accepted the cup of coffee with a smile, "thanks."

They all took a sip and then Eric was the first to talk.

"So, what now? Do you have any idea who's behind the attack?"

"Not a clue," John said.

"I suppose calling the police is out of the question?"

"Definitely out of the question," John confirmed. "We don't want any attention. We'll start an investigation as soon as we arrived back home."

"How will you get rid of the bodies?"

"We'll have to dump them somewhere. Desert or ocean," Cameron replied, "we might have to drive multiple times. There are twelve more of them at the house."

"Jeez, Cameron," Eric gasped, "did you kill them, too?"

"No," she said, "but it was another cyborg."

Glancing from Cameron to Eric and back, John was getting a little annoyed.

"How long have you been knowing about us? I mean about Cam being a cyborg and the whole backstory?"

"I just told him tonight, John", Cameron replied before Eric could. "I decided to let him in."

"I thought we were over that," John said and shook his head. "I mean you doing things without telling me or mom."

"I'm sorry," Cameron stated. "But I feel the need to be honest with everyone I care for. Besides, he would have found out tonight anyway."

Eric nodded.

"It was quite a demonstration. I didn't believe her when she told me. At first, I thought it was some idiotic prank, then I suspected she has a severe mental problem. But then those attackers showed up and I saw what she did to them and how unconcerned and cold-blooded she killed them... and I… I..."

Eric's voice broke and suddenly he was overpowered by a crying fit. John padded him on the back, understanding how overwhelming the whole experience must have been for him. Cameron looked at Eric with a worried expression. After a few minutes, he recovered a bit.

"Would you please excuse me?" he asked, "I'd like to go to the bathroom."

"Sure, no problem," John replied.

Cameron waited until Eric was out of hearing distance, then turned towards John.

"He should stay with us for a while," she said. "He might be in danger. We don't know who hired those men. He can have my room for the time being."

"Now wait a minute, Cam, he's not a stray puppy dog you can simply bring home."

"Please, John?" Cameron begged and kissed him gently on the lips.

"Plus, we aren't equipped for wheel chairs," John added, determined not to give in.

"I'll carry him up and down the stairs," she argued, kissing him again.

"But we're probably moving tomorrow anyway…"

Another kiss.

"Alright, alright," John said, giving in. "But I won't explain to mom. _You_ will."

"Thank you," she replied with a warm smile and kissed him longer.

Much longer.

After a couple of minutes, Eric rolled back into the room and observed the two kissing lovers for a moment. Then he loudly cleared his throat. John broke the kiss.

"Sorry, this must seem very weird to you," he said.

"To say the least," Eric confirmed. "I have a hard time getting this into my head. I mean I can understand it. She is so pretty and seems so fragile and vulnerable. But from one second to the other, she becomes a cold-blooded killing machine. And then, abracadabra, suddenly the scene changes to a teenage love romance. It's like I'm watching scenes in a stage play, and it's kinda freaking me out, to be honest. How can you blind out the fact that Cameron is a killing machine?"

John looked at Cameron and she looked at him.

"A little bit better every day," he stated smiling and Cameron gave John a gentle nudge in the side.

"Eric," Cameron said and squatted down before him, "I'm sorry that you saw my ugly side. But understand that I'm a protector, a bodyguard and that I'll do everything in my power to make sure John survives. I'd sacrifice myself if it meant saving his life."

"Wow, must be real love then," Eric replied sarcastically.

"I'm sorry that I pulled you into this," she continued. "This was never my intention. It would be wise for you to stay with us for a couple of days, until we made sure it is safe for you to return home. Are you okay with that?"

Eric was taken aback a little by her offer. He thought for a moment, contemplating what he had witnessed and how he would feel later, all on his own.

"Maybe it's a good idea to have company," he finally said, "but I don't want to be an inconvenience."

"You won't be," John replied. "Besides, Cameron's friends are always welcome in our house."

Cameron beamed at John's last words and kissed him again.

"I only hope I'm not getting blind now," Eric added sarcastically.

* * *

They moved the three bodies onto the cargo bed of the pickup truck. According to Eric, nobody would find out that he ended his shift earlier than usual, having his own keys for the building. He called off the transport service for disabled people that drove him between his apartment and the library, saying he was riding home with a friend today.

"The wounds she has, won't they get infected?" Eric asked from the back seat before Cameron entered the vehicle.

"No, her flesh isn't like ours," John replied. "It'll regenerate within a few days, leaving no scars. But it will heal faster with the bullets removed. And I definitely will remove them because I don't want to feel them under her skin when I touch her."

"Duh, no kidding." Eric said and shook his head in disbelief. "If anybody would have told me about this yesterday…"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I was there once, too."

Cameron quickly scanned the whole library again for any traces of the nightly fight. Then, as she found that everything was okay, she locked the door and walked towards the waiting Dodge RAM with John and Eric.

"All clear," she said upon entering, "we're good to go."

 **-0-**

Back at the Connor house, Sarah and Derek had removed the weapons and the useful gear from the dead assassins and searched their bodies. However, there were no indications about their identities: no wallets, no cellphones, no dog tags, nothing.

"The serial numbers have been removed from the weapons," Derek said. "But they must have come in a vehicle. They surely didn't _walk_ to our place in that outfit. I'll go and check the side streets, see if I find a suspicious looking van or truck parked anywhere."

"Yes, do that," Sarah agreed.

She was exhausted. All the excitement had taken its toll on her. Would they ever have a moment of peace? It seemed like they'd slide from one crisis into the next. This had to stop, or she'll eventually lose her sanity. Still lost in thoughts, she saw the Dodge RAM return.

 _"Thank God, they made it"_ , she thought.

It wasn't before John steered the truck into its parking position that she noticed a third person inside the cabin as well as a folded wheel chair on the cargo bed next to three dead bodies.

"Oh great," she said to herself, "just what we need. Another complication."

Knowing that Eric was not to blame for any of this, she tried her best to be friendly. When Cameron explained the events at the library in detail and how they came to think Eric might be in danger, she had to agree that keeping him as a temporary guest was probably a good idea. Cameron carried Eric inside and John brought his wheel chair. After they made sure he was comfortable in Cameron's room, they returned to the yard.

"Okay, now to the tricky part." Sarah stated. "We need to get rid of the bodies. Permanently. They mustn't be found. Any ideas?"

Before anyone could reply, a brown UPS van rolled into the driveway. They saw that Derek sat behind the steering wheel.

"Look what I found further down the road," he said upon dismounting the vehicle. "From what it looks like, it's been converted into a troop carrier inside, with benches and gun racks and all. Enough space for up to twenty soldiers. It's a good guess they let out three men at the library first, and then drove here to spill the rest."

"Any sign of the driver?" Sarah asked.

"Yup. Dead. Dumped in the back with a broken neck. I also found that the electronics in the car were destroyed. Looks like the handwriting of our mystery cyborg. I have no idea what its mission is. I can only hazard a guess it's not here to kill John. Because tonight would have been the best opportunity to do so."

Derek shot a glance towards Cameron, who stared right back defiantly.

"If everyone relies solely on me to protect the house while they spend their nights drinking in a bar," she said coolly, "it's no wonder such things happen."

"It's your job to protect the house," Derek shot back. "To scan and patrol the perimeter or whatever you do. It's not your job to wander around in town and study at a library at night."

The staring competition between the two continued.

"Derek, Cam," John addressed them wearily, not wanting another fight. "It's nobody's fault. Perfect security doesn't exist. And Cam is right, we shouldn't only rely on her for our safety. We have allowed ourselves to become careless and vulnerable. Plus, Cameron also has a right for privacy."

"I agree you'd be more helpful if you stayed sober every night," Sarah said to Derek.

Derek shot Sarah an angry glance.

"Whoa," John exclaimed, "calm down everyone. Remember what we agreed on. No hard feelings. We do things together now."

"Fine," Derek replied, "have it your way."

"Alright," Sarah said. "The UPS van is our answer to how to get rid of the bodies. Cameron, is there a tracking device on it? Can you scan the van?"

"I already did. There used to be a tracking device, but it was destroyed by our mystery Terminator."

"It's almost as if this mystery Terminator intentionally left the van for us to discover," John speculated, "so we can use it to get rid of the bodies."

"I don't like to be played with like that," Derek said grimly, "even when it's for our own good."

"Yeah, we should remain watchful," John added. "Cam, could you please load the bodies into the van and drive it to the cliffs near Oxnard where we sank the coltan truck into the sea? I will follow with the RAM and pick you up after you drove the van over the cliff. I think it's the best solution."

"I think so as well," his girlfriend replied and went to work.

 **-0-**

Cameron and John returned three hours later, when the sun had already risen. Inside the house, Derek and Sarah sat on the sofa, having a cup of coffee.

"Any problems?" Sarah asked tiredly.

"No, everything's fine," Cameron replied. "Where's Eric?"

"Asleep in your room."

"Good. He might be a little traumatized. Sleep will help."

"Everyone we meet gets traumatized," John added exhausted and let himself fall onto the couch. "Man, I'm tired, too. I guess I'll pull the bullets from Cam's body and then just fall dead into my bed."

"We should go upstairs for that, John," Cameron said.

"Hm? Yeah, yeah. Go ahead, I gotta get the pliers and the band aid."

Cameron went upstairs.

John retrieved the tools he needed and was about to follow her, when suddenly the body of a tied-up and gagged fat man in his pajamas flew through the open terrace door into the living room. The man, apparently in his late fifties, landed hard on the floor and writhed in pain, moaning. Startled, everyone jumped to their feet, grabbed their guns and pointed them at the open door. There, in the morning sunlight, stood Cameron, and considered the room with her usual stoic terminator look.

"Sorry, I'm late," she said calmly, "it took me longer to get this man than I thought."

"Cam? How?" John asked, then hesitated as he noticed that she no longer had any bullet wounds and was wearing baggy clothes that were a few sizes too big for her.

Upon seeing him, Cameron suddenly ran towards John, flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.

"I'm so glad to see you again, John" she said with apparent relief.

He was so surprised that short of hugging her back, he didn't know what to do.

"Would someone explain to me what the fuck is going on?" Derek asked.

"I think we're having another branching of timelines," Cameron's voice said.

But it came from the stairs, not from the cyborg girl who was hugging John.

There, halfway down the stairs, stood Cameron in her bloody tee shirt and with all the bullet holes still in her. It took a moment for everyone to realize that there were now two Camerons in the house. Everyone looked back and forth between the two cyborgs. Cameron One looked at Cameron Two with a mixture of surprise and curiosity.

Slowly, Cameron Two loosened her embrace of John and looked around.

"It's a long story and he is responsible", she said, pointing her finger at the fat man on the floor who was still writhing in pain. "He is behind the assassination attempt. And also the mastermind behind the new Skynet A.I."

 **-0-0-0-**

 ** _Author's notes:_**

 ** _\- You didn't think this was all just about love and family therapy, right?_**

 ** _\- Eric deserved a comeback IMHO._**

 ** _\- Two Camerons. I borrowed the idea from Pjazz but intend to go down a different path than him._**


	4. Twice As Nice (revised)

**_CHAPTER 4: "TWICE AS NICE" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 – 06:25 a.m.**

 **Burbank**

"You used the emergency TDE in San Diego," Cameron One stated.

"I did," Cameron Two confirmed.

"But it's only to be used in case of a mission failure," Cameron One said and tilted her head.

"The mission had failed. John was dead," Cameron Two replied stoically.

"Okay, okay, time out," John said and stepped between the two Camerons, making the according hand signal, "what the hell is going on here? Why are there suddenly two of you?"

"Short version, I travelled back in time to save all your lives," Cameron Two answered.

"What?" Sarah asked, looking as dumbfounded as everyone else in the living room.

"You were all killed tonight by the assassins who were hired by that guy."

Cameron Two pointed at the fat man in pajamas on the floor, who was barely conscious and still moaning in pain, bleeding from a wound on his forehead now. He must have hit his head on something when she'd thrown him into the house. John, Sarah, Derek and Cameron One looked down on him.

"His name is Adam Jacobson," Cameron Two continued, "He's the CEO of Simdyne Cybernetics, also the chief country manager of Kaliba International, and a Skynet collaborator. I suggest we confine him."

Derek knelt and looked closer at the man. He was obese, his head was balding with greying hair. He probably was in his late fifties.

"He won't get anywhere in this condition", he said. "I suggest we'll lock him up in the basement... _after y_ ou have explained what the bloody fucking hell is going on!"

Derek looked back at Cameron Two while standing up again and everyone else followed his gaze.

"What has happened here today, I have already experienced. But it didn't end so well," Cameron Two began to tell. "While I was at the library with Eric and dealt with the three attackers, you were all killed by the other twelve assassins in your sleep. I ran home as fast as I could, but I didn't arrive in time to save you. I failed in protecting John. However, I was able to kill all the attackers and interrogate their leader. I offered him two options: talk and die quickly or stay mute and die very, very slowly. After some… _persuasion_ , he chose to be communicative and therefore I killed him quickly."

Cameron Two told this in a completely calm, stoic voice, but everyone in the room could imagine what she would be able to do if she wanted someone to die very, very slowly, especially after finding John dead.

"I spent the following ten days investigating who was behind the attack," Cameron Two continued. "Thanks to being freed from any kind of thoughtful consideration and without any reason to proceed subtly or cautiously, I was quickly successful all along the line."

"You killed them all?" Sarah asked.

"Of course," Cameron Two replied coldly and suddenly John, Derek and Sarah had the impression the temperature had dropped a few degrees in the room.

"Once I was finished and knew everything I needed to know, I drove to San Diego and retrieved the portable emergency TDE the engineers had hidden there. Then I went into the Mojave Desert outside of Lancaster and used it to travel ten days back in time. I killed the driver of the van, destroyed the electronics inside, then I continued here and arrived just in time to kill the attackers quickly one by one. I piled their bodies up in front of the shed, then I went to get Jacobson."

Everyone stared at Cameron Two, then at Cameron One.

"Does that mean there is another time machine?" Sarah asked. "In San Diego?"

"Yes, there is another TDE," Cameron One confirmed. "In a bank vault in San Diego. As I said before, it's only to be used in an emergency and only I have access to it. Well, and Cameron Two of course."

"So, you were the mystery Terminator who saved our butts tonight?" Derek asked.

"You're welcome," Cameron Two said, then looked at Sarah. "I didn't have time to stay and explain. Acting quickly was crucial. I needed to go after those behind the attack immediately and kill them all before they realized their plan had failed. I also had to kill all those who knew about this house and then fetch Jacobson."

"So… does that mean we're safe now?" John asked.

"You are safe from these people, safe from Kaliba, yes," Cameron Two replied and smiled at him. "At least for the moment. The deaths of all the people I killed tonight, will look like tragic accidents. I made sure to leave no traces. If you were planning on moving out of here, I suggest you postpone that until we have questioned Jacobson. I didn't have time to do that yet. He's at the center of it all and will be a gushing source of useful information – once I started interrogating him."

"Why bring him here?" Derek asked. "Isn't that a risk?"

"On the contrary. Getting him out of his comfort zone will prove to be a big advantage. Don't worry, nobody followed me here. If my assumption is correct, Jacobson is the key figure in the revived Skynet project for the Air Force."

"You said he was a Skynet collaborator," Sarah said.

"Yes," Cameron Two replied, "There are radiation residues in his tissue that are identical to the kind of radioactive contamination everyone had after Judgement Day. And then there is this..."

She pulled up the man's sleeve and they saw a tattooed bar code, like the one Derek had on his arm.

"He was a prisoner of Skynet?" Sarah asked.

"No," Cameron Two stated, "on the contrary. He helped the machines with capturing, locking up, and interrogating humans. The barcode says he is a very high-ranking Gray, probably sent here from the future by Skynet."

"He's a what?" John asked.

"A Gray," Derek replied with contempt in his voice. "They were human collaborators who'd succumbed to Skynet and worked for the machines. They all wore gray overalls and gray army caps, hence the nickname."

"Why would anyone work for Skynet?" Sarah asked, "I thought all humans were united in fighting the machines."

Derek scoffed.

"Not all humans," he said, "Skynet offered good treatment to those who joined in the machines' fight to wipe out humanity. You know, more and better food, nice quarters in non-destroyed regions, higher standard of living, Not like before Judgement Day, mind you, but the closest you could get. While most people lived in the tunnels under the city, searching through the garbage for food, they resided in some undestroyed gated communities of former Beverly Hills, Bel Air and the Hollywood Hills, receiving their nourishment from what the machines found in supermarkets that survived the blasts. They even had their own farmland and livestock breeding in maximum security areas of the country. Part of our missions was to raid their provisions."

"Wow," John replied, "it's hard to imagine anyone would betray their race for food and convenience."

"Some humans are like that," Cameron One said. "You might not like it but there is a reason machines never trusted them. People who sold out and betrayed their own kind for material advantages, couldn't be trusted. Skynet used the Grays but never truly respected them. People like Jacobson are without any honor or self-esteem. Once the human resistance would have been defeated, Skynet would have had all Grays killed as well. The machines only needed them as long as they were useful in their fight against John Connor and in creating a working industry to produce more and more machines who would eventually have replaced the Grays and the human slave laborers. The Grays of course knew all that but preferred the short time in luxury to the struggle for survival."

"Not exactly showing our species at its best," Derek added and slowly let a glob of spit fall on Jacobson's face. "It was Grays who taught the cyborgs to be convincing in their human behavior. Some Grays went up rather high in Skynet's command staff, even leading attacks against the resistance. All of them were considered traitors and war criminals by the resistance, and if they were caught, they were interrogated and executed immediately. Future John made it clear to everyone what to expect if Grays were caught: no trial, no prison, only torture and death. Not pretty, I admit, but in my opinion, John's radical and consistent behavior prevented many desperate people from running over to Skynet - afraid of being killed if caught."

"But they were still humans!" John argued.

"Not to us, not anymore," Derek said and looked at John, "and not to your future self."

"Then I don't want to become that future self," John stated and crossed his arms in front of him.

"You still have to learn that humans can be much worse than machines, John," Derek said. "You know, the Nazis, the communists, the Khmer Rouge, religious terrorists. Grays were hated even more than machines because they chose to fraternize with the enemy. It was Grays who watched over Skynet's prison camps, it was Grays who grinded people in Skynet's labor camps and factories. Don't think everything was run by the machines. The machines were there to fight the human resistance, to infiltrate it and to kill its soldiers. Everything else was done by the Grays. After all, even Skynet had realized that someone's gotta keep the business running."

John looked down at the man.

"Jacobson won't be killed under my watch, though," he stated categorically, and looked at his mother who nodded. "This isn't the world after Judgement Day and I am not General Connor, the leader of the human resistance. We'll interrogate him and then think of something."

Nobody contradicted him. Then John looked first at Cameron One and then at Cameron Two.

"So…" he said, "I take it you are both the same then? You're both Cameron? Identical twins, so to speak?"

"Yes, John, identical chips," they both replied in unison, then looked at each other and grinned.

"I'm ten days older than her now, though" Cameron Two added.

John had to smile at her for pointing that out.

"So, what happens now?" he asked and looked at Cameron Two, "are you going to travel back to the future after you saved our lives, or what?"

The two Camerons looked at each other.

"No, John," Cameron One replied in a soft tone and looked at him. "It doesn't work that way. Unfortunately, she can't go back. Her timeline branched off when she changed this one. By killing the attackers, she created a _new_ timeline. If she were to travel into the future from here, then only into _our_ future from now on, not into hers anymore. There's no point in beating around the bush, John, there are two of us now."

For a moment, there was a stunned silence, while everyone tried to consider the implications. John let himself fall onto the sofa and Derek groaned.

"One of them was already painful enough but two?" he said and palmed his face. "God help us!"

"How are we going to explain two Camerons?" Sarah asked, trying to think practically. "We cannot simply declare her a lost sister or something. Maybe we can hide her?"

John scoffed.

"What do you suggest, mom? Keep one of them in the closet for spare parts? Remove her chip and bury her in the desert? Let's face it, both have a right to exist and we have to somehow deal with it."

"That's not the point, John," Sarah said, "We can't…"

"Think about it practically, mom," he interrupted her. "We can use all the help we can get. And another cyborg on our side is definitely a big improvement. Two Camerons are better than one."

"I can definitely see the advantages for _you_ , John," Derek added with a smirk and an ambiguous wink.

He received an angry look from John for that.

"You're not helping, Derek," Sarah said annoyed and reached for her coffee mug. "We need to think this over. She _is_ a welcome reinforcement. But she's also a major complication that will cause problems."

"Yes," Cameron One agreed. "For one, John's going to need a bigger bed."

Sarah choked on her coffee and started coughing.

 **-0-**

Adam Jacobson was chained to the wall in the basement room where they'd found the writing in blood. They kept him tied up and gagged but allowed him the comfort of an old mattress, a bucket and a blanket. Both Camerons made sure he couldn't free himself.

Then it was decided that everyone should go back to bed, trying to get some more sleep. Cameron Two offered to remove the bullets from Cameron One's body. She also used the time and fill her doppelganger in about the ten days she'd spent on research before she travelled back in time. John realized he couldn't keep his eyes open and went to bed as well.

After a few hours of sleep, John slowly woke up and slowly opened his eyes Immediately, he got startled and jumped. Both Camerons sat on either side of his bed, watching him in silence. He rubbed his eyes in frustration.

"Don't do that," he said unnerved, "Mom always did that. It freaked me out and it's freaking me out even more when you do that. The both of you, I mean."

"I'm sorry, John," the two Camerons replied in unison.

"And that," John added, "is freaking me out even more – the two of you acting and talking in synchrony."

The two Camerons looked at each other, then Cameron One nodded and Cameron Two spoke alone and took his hand.

"I'm sorry, John," she said, "the last time I saw you, you were lying dead over there." She pointed at the floor next to the bed. "I'm just so glad to be with you again. We didn't want to wake you up and simply enjoyed watching you while you were sleeping."

As he saw her eyes watering up, John's grumpy mood immediately vanished into nothing and was replaced by an aching desire to embrace and kiss her. He sat up and pulled her close. Gratefully, she returned the gesture, crying silently into his shoulder. Then he looked at her, brushed some of the hair out of her face and kissed her long and tenderly. Cameron One was watching with a smile. John lay back down onto the bed while Cameron Two quickly took off her clothes, then slipped under the covers and snuggled up to him without uttering a word.

Cameron One also got naked, then lay down on John's other side. The three barely fit into his bed and it was creaking alarmingly under their combined weight. John pulled both girls close and let his hands wander over their bodies while they kissed him on his mouth, face, neck and chest. Under the blanket, their hands found his dick and tenderly stroked the hardening member. At the same time, John's hands found their way between their legs, gently rubbing their most intimate parts.

The situation wasn't at all awkward, it felt completely natural. The two cyborg girls accepted each other's existence without questioning and seemed to have silently agreed on sharing John from now on. With non-verbal communication, they quickly decided that Cameron Two was the first to mount him while Cameron One kept on kissing and caressing him.

John smiled happily and sighed, enjoying being petted and fondled by his two girlfriends with closed eyes. Both were eager to show their unconditional love with every kiss, every touch of their hands, and every thrust of their pelvises. When John came into her, Cameron Two dismounted his penis and cleaned it with her mouth.

Being a teenager, John quickly recovered, and his cock went stiff again in no time. Now it was Cameron One's turn to ride him while Cameron Two lay down by his side and pampered him with kisses and fondlings. Saying that John was in heaven would have been a complete understatement. He lay there passively in peaceful bliss, while Cameron One was slowly moving up and down on his shaft.

 _"This is even better,"_ he thought while is hand searched and found Cameron Two's still very wet pussy, _"this is definitely even better."_

Opening her legs to grant him access, she groaned into his ear while nibbling at his lobe when he inserted two fingers into her.

"I love you, John," she breathed.

"I love you too," he replied and reached up with his other hand to fondle Cameron One's breasts, "I love you both so much."

 **-0-**

Lunchtime had arrived when everyone including Eric finally made it downstairs and gathered in the dining room. Saying it was a shock for Eric to suddenly see two Camerons, would be an understatement. And the explanation why there were now two of them, shocked him even more.

"Jeez," he said and tried to read in their faces, "this is fucked up, right? This is completely fucked up. And what about me? Am I still in danger now?"

"No!", Cameron Two assured vigorously, "You're safe, Eric. You can go back to your normal life. Nobody knows we know each other. Nobody will make a connection between us."

"Back to my normal life," he said and laughed sarcastically, "that's the joke of the century. Who could go back to their normal lives after meeting you and your _'family'_ of time-traveling outlaws?"

"I know it's hard for you," John responded empathically and put a hand on his shoulder, "but we'll take care of you. We will do everything in our power to help you. Try looking at it like this: It's an adventure of a lifetime."

"I'll hardly be able to work alone in that library again. The place will creep me out for months to come."

"I will keep visiting you at night, Eric." Cameron One said. "One of us will, that is."

She looked at Cameron Two, who nodded.

"Yes, Eric," she agreed, "we'll alternate in visiting you, making sure you're not creeped out."

"I… I need to rest some more," Eric said, suddenly sounding fatigued. "Would someone be so kind to bring me upstairs again?"

Sarah stopped the two Camerons from standing up.

"John and Derek can do that. I'd like to have a word with you two. Alone."

John looked at his mother with a frown, wondering what that was about, but knew better than contradicting her. After the three men were out of hearing range, Sarah considered the two Camerons with a look that could have frozen water.

"Outside. Now!" she commanded and went out onto the rear porch of the house.

The two cyborg girls exchanged looks, then reluctantly followed her. Once outside, Sarah closed the door behind them.

"Let's get quickly to the point in the light of our new friendship," she stated. "I'm worried that two of you is one too many for my son."

Both Camerons looked confused.

"But you agreed that his safety would benefit greatly from two cyborgs," Cameron Two argued.

"Yes, it does," Sarah said, "That's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried about John's emotional balance. Sooner or later he'll have to choose one of you. And I don't want you two competing over him to force him into that decision."

Again, both Camerons looked at each other.

"There is no competition," they stated in unison.

"We're identical, Sarah," Cameron One added. "We both love John and John loves us."

"We're not jealous of each other," Cameron Two emphasized. "We won't compete for his favor."

"Oh, I know that you two won't have a problem with that _now_. After all, you're machines, and you're identical, so you're perfectly capable of sharing him equally among yourselves."

"Exactly," both replied at the same time.

"Yes, at the moment you still are one and the same. But that will change. What about in a few months, hm? What about in a few years? Each of you will make their own experiences independently from each other, learn new things the other one will not. Sooner or later you'll becoming two different persons. John…"

The door to the porch was pushed open and John appeared in the doorframe.

"Mom, what's going on out here?" he asked with a frown.

"Just having a little talk between girls," Sarah answered with a forced smile.

"She wants one of us to leave you," Cameron One said stoically but it was clear that Sarah's demand had shocked her. "She thinks you won't be able to keep both of us with you."

"Ooo-kay…," John replied, obviously having to fight for self-restraint. "would you two please leave me alone with my mother for a moment?"

The two Camerons went inside the house, gently touching John's arm as they passed, smiling reassuringly at him.

"John, before you start…" Sarah began.

"I know perfectly well what you're on to, mom," he interrupted her. "And there is only one thing I have to say about this: Not. Your. Business."

Sarah looked at him in surprise, completely taken aback. He'd never talked to her like that before.

"John, I only…"

"As far as my relationship with Cameron - both of them - is concerned," John continued composed but clearly agitated under the surface, "I demand that you stay out of it. My relationship with the two concerns only the three of us. Am I making myself clear?"

"Don't talk to me like…"

"Don't you understand, mom?" John interrupted her, a little louder this time. "Cameron is my business and everything concerning her, or rather _them_ now, falls in my responsibility. Only in mine! I thought we already discussed that with a satisfying result yesterday."

"John, I know but now there are two of them. You don't know what will happen if you start a relationship with two machines."

"Women, mom! They may be made from other materials than we are but they're women! Believe me, I know from firsthand experience."

"Now wait a minute, John…"

"You should learn to trust my instincts if you want me to become that future leader, mom. Especially when it concerns Cameron. By now you should know how important it is that I keep her, _them_ , close to me. I know how they tick, much better than anybody else ever could. I trust them. With my life."

"That almost went wrong already in the past. And it can go wrong again," Sarah replied pleadingly. "She could go bad again and now the chances for that have doubled. No matter how much they love you – and yes, I believe they really do – they're still machines, John. And machines can go wrong, they'll always break at some point."

"Then it's up to me to make sure that doesn't happen," John said, now more composed again. "Cameron malfunctioned _once_ , yes. Her chip was exposed to physical stress that damaged a few circuits. That made her system revert to her original programing, a backup of her factory state during an extensive self-diagnosis. But she repaired the damage."

"And almost killed you in the process!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Almost, yes," John admitted. "And if it would've been up to you or Derek or Charley, we wouldn't be standing here. Because you would have burned her, she would be dead now. And because of that, _we_ would be dead, too. Dead, mom! We're only alive because of Cameron. She saved us time and again. Last night was just the latest incident in a long line of situations where she saved our butts. Mostly because we acted careless – you, me, Derek. Cameron protected us from our own mistakes."

Sarah let his words sink in for a moment, listening to her son with her arms crossed.

"Humans can go wrong, too, mom. Humans are flawed creatures as well. We go wrong all the time and most of the time we are unable to self-repair. Soldiers get PTSD and sometimes kill their loved ones. Humans need doctors and therapists, my Camerons don't. They don't need a doctor and they will never need a therapist. If there's maintenance to do on their body, we will do it together."

Sarah opened her mouth to say something but then decided otherwise.

"I know that Cameron's decisions often don't match with our human moral standards," John continued. "Sometimes I don't like it either. But in hindsight, she was right in doing what she did every single time. Enrique? He was a snitch and would have set the FBI on our trail. The housebreakers? Leaving one of them alive led Cromartie directly to us. We, you, all of us, owe our lives to the machine you doubt so much."

"John," Sarah said in a conciliating tone, "I don't doubt her, and I'm aware of all you just said. I know what and who she is. Tin Miss and I made our peace with each other. I just don't know what will happen with the unpredictable dynamics that could develop with two Camerons in your bed."

"Then you simply have to trust my judgement, mom."

"Do I?" Sarah asked challenging, "do I have to trust the judgement of a 16-year-old with his hormones going bananas over two beautiful, compliant girls in his bed?"

John sighed.

"I knew you'd bring up the _'I am an adult and you're not'_ argument sooner or later. But here's the thing you don't understand, mom: this is not some crazy teen romance. They are not my willing sexbots who do whatever I want."

"That's not what I said, John…"

"Let me finish please. My Camerons and I complete each other. I understand them better than anyone ever could. And they understand me better than anyone ever could. Even better than you, mom, because they not only know me now, they also know what I had become in their future. They devoted their lives to me, making sure I will survive and become the future leader of the resistance if Skynet is still being created. Protecting me is the meaning of their lives. They would be incomplete without me, and I have to admit that I'd be incomplete without them. They're both the same person. If someone forced me to choose between them, it would emotionally destroy them both. They'd lose their trust in me. Hence, I'll never choose either one of them, mom! Never ever! I'll keep them both."

"And what about you, John? Who saves _you_ from being emotionally destroyed?"

" _They_ do, mom. Don't you understand? They are my comfort and my salvation! You have no idea how much at peace I am with myself now. You cannot imagine how comforting it is to have them lying next to me, feeling loved by them. I've never felt so sheltered and calm in my whole life."

"John, I'm happy that you're happier now but…"

"No human woman could achieve what they achieve, not this constantly and not with this degree of devotion. They will never doubt me, they will always be backing me up, even with the hardest decisions I'll have to make. They are my support, my redemption, my solace. Both Camerons will carry every burden with me like no human woman can – you included. Not to mention that with two of them now, the chances have just doubled that I will come out of all this with my sanity intact. I sleep a lot better, too, I don't have nightmares anymore about Terminators chasing me. I used to have them every night, but the dreams are gone now "

Sarah looked at her son with a slightly shocked face.

"I didn't know this winds you up so much, John. I thought I was the only one here with regular nightmares."

"You brought me up and taught me to have nightmares, mom."

John could see a tear running down his mother's cheek. Suddenly, he felt sorry for being so harsh to her. He took her in his arms, a gesture she gladly returned.

"I love you, mom, and always will but you have to accept that both Camerons will stay with us. There will be no compromise and no restriction."

* * *

"Is everything alright between you?" Derek asked as they entered the house again. "You both seem upset."

"Yes, Derek, everything is okay," Sarah replied exhausted.

The two Camerons walked towards John and hugged him. He hugged them back, being aware that they probably had overheard the whole conversation through the closed door. That had been his intention, though, his way of reassuring them. Would they understand? Their loving embrace and their smiles told him that they did.

"So, if you're finished with the family business," Derek declared annoyed, "can we now concentrate on the important matters, like interrogating our prisoner?"

 **-0-**

It was dark in the basement. The dirty windows didn't let much light in. Huddled in the corner, chained to the wall, lay Adam Jacobson, still in his pajamas. He was asleep. That changed very quickly, though, when Derek emptied a bucket of cold water over him.

"Waky, waky," he said with a satisfied grin as the man jerked and woke up, coughing and spluttering.

Jacobson was terrified and looked up to his captors with fear and pleading eyes. Derek, John, Sarah and Cameron Two stood in a half circle in front of him. Cameron One was upstairs to have an eye on Eric and to stand guard if there was an unexpected visitor.

Derek ripped the duct tape from the man's mouth.

"Please," Jacobson immediately said, "My family will pay the ransom, just don't kill me. Please."

"Ransom?" Derek asked amused. "Is that what you think you're here for?"

"Yes," the man replied. "Isn't that what you're after? Money?"

The three looked at each other, then Derek continued.

"Let me introduce my nephew to you. His name is John Connor."

A sudden realization showed up on the man's face as his eyes grew wide in shock and fear.

"And the pretty lady here is his mother, Sarah Connor."

Sarah shot Derek a threatening look. She hated being called a lady.

"You've met Cameron already, haven't you?" she asked. "Sweet little girl, isn't she?"

"Please! Please let me go!" Jacobsen pleaded, "I haven't done anything wrong."

"We know you hired a group of mercenaries to kill us," Derek said unaffected. "We'd like to know all about that, mainly who you really are, where and when you came from and what Skynet ordered you to do here. I can smell a Gray five miles against the wind."

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" the man shouted wildly, "my name is Adam Jacobsen, I am the CEO of Simdyne Cybernetics. Please. I have a wife and three children. You got the wrong man!"

"Just so you know, Adam," Sarah said coldly, "we're working from outside the system. There'll be nobody looking for you here. Cameron here said she has eliminated your accomplices in the assassination attempt and erased all traces that could lead somebody to us. She is very thorough and does such things really well… you know, terminating people."

Cameron let her eyes glow red for a second. The man broke out in hysteria.

"Oh my God! NOOO! No, no, no, no, keep her away from me! Don't let her touch me!"

"Ah, so you recognize what she is," Derek said, "Good! Because I'm not getting my hands dirty on filth like you. I'll leave it to her to extract information from you. John, Sarah, are you coming?"

"Sure," John replied and placed a small boom box on the floor. "We'll be upstairs, Cam. Make sure he doesn't scream too much. The neighbors might complain."

"I'll do my best, John," Cameron said in her usual calm voice, removed her shoulder bag and opened it up.

Inside was an assortment of drug bottles and syringes. Derek, John and Sarah left the basement, leaving Jacobson alone with Cameron Two.

"Why are you working with them?" the man asked. "Why did you betray Skynet? And who are you anyway? I've never seen a model like you."

Cameron ignored his questions.

"Do you like Chopin?" she asked the trembling man on the floor while putting a CD into the boom box. "I just _love_ Chopin. Especially after a really rough day. And thanks to you, I had some really rough days lately."

 **-0-0-0-**


	5. The Haze Is Clearing (revised)

**_CHAPTER 5: "THE HAZE IS CLEARING" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 – 01:51 p.m.**

 **Burbank**

They'd gathered in the living room again.

Derek sat down on the sofa, John took the armchair opposite of him. Sarah preferred to stand and seemed lost in her own thoughts. She didn't want to think about what Cameron Two did to Jacobson in the basement. None of them wanted to imagine that.

Cameron One stood at the window in her usual manner, looking outside, scanning stoically for any sign of trouble. By now John knew that her relapse into tried and tested routines and rituals was merely a method to mask her uneasiness. In moments like this, he asked himself what was really going on in her head, how her thought processes worked and how exactly she was experiencing feelings and emotions.

"Do you think he'll talk?" Sarah asked, ripping John out of his thoughts.

"He'll talk," Derek said flatly.

"What makes you so sure?"

Derek stared into space and sighed.

"Those Grays are all cowards," he finally said. "Traitors always are. It's practically a job requirement. Many of them hate themselves for what they've been doing, some so much that they practically beg to be punished. I experienced it firsthand. Besides, don't forget I also had the _'pleasure'_ to _'enjoy'_ Cameron's treatment."

Cameron turned her head and looked at Derek with a face that showed concern and maybe regret, seeking eye contact with him. But Derek didn't return the look, pointedly avoiding her gaze. Sarah noticed the tense atmosphere.

"There's no one who can endure it without breaking," Derek added, "no matter how well they've been prepared for interrogation and torture. Believe me, he'll talk."

"How many times does she have to save your life before you can forgive her, Derek?" John asked.

Derek looked at his nephew with a grim face.

"Some things you can never quite make up for," he replied coldly.

"You can't prevent me from trying, though," Cameron said defiantly.

Their gazes met for a second, then Derek looked away again. John noticed that Cameron looked disappointed. It surely would take a while for the two to finally find their peace with each other. Suddenly, Eric appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Could somebody help me downstairs, please?" he asked.

"Of course," Cameron said, walked up to him, grabbed him together with his wheelchair and carried him down with ease.

"Wow, those wounds heal really fast," Eric commented as he studied her quickly vanishing facial wounds.

"Yes, but that'll soon become a problem," John agreed. "Once all her wounds are healed, there'll be no way to distinguish one Cameron from the other."

"Which also leads us to the problem of how to address you," Sarah added.

"Yeah, calling them _'Number One'_ and _'Number Two'_ would be a little awkward," Derek said with an evil grin.

John cringed on hearing that.

"No," he agreed. "One of them needs a new name and a new look."

"What about naming one of us ' _Alison'_?" Cameron asked.

"Maybe not such a good idea, Tin Miss," Sarah remarked with a forced smile, noticing Derek's discomfort upon hearing that.

"No, it's all right," Derek stated, surprising them all, "We said we'll make a cut. The past is past. The future is unwritten, right? Alison is a baby and she's alive. It doesn't matter how I feel about it. If you want to name one of them _Alison_ , so be it. At least it's what used to be the right name…"

"Who is Alison?" Eric asked.

John explained to him who Alison Young was but left out the details that led to her death.

"So, there is a baby out there in Palmdale that will look like Cameron in about sixteen years from now?" he asked and shook his head in amazement. "Every time I think nothing can shock me anymore…"

"Yeah, welcome to my world," Derek said, looking at Cameron.

Sarah considered Derek with a worried face.

"Are you sure you're okay with one of them being named Alison? I ask because we need to get a set of papers. It's gonna cost and once they've been issued…"

"Yes, I'm okay with it," Derek replied and straightened himself, "this time is as good as any to start fighting my inner demons. Don't worry about me."

Eric looked from Derek to Cameron and back with a puzzled face, unable to follow the hints and unspoken insinuations.

"So, Derek and Cameron have a history?" he asked.

"Yes," John replied to him. "Not exactly the best history, if you know what I mean."

"Doesn't matter," Derek said, fully composed again. "I'm a pragmatist. I came here to change the future, to prevent Judgement Day and the war against the machines. If Cameron is our best chance for achieving that, I'll gladly welcome her into my team – both of them, that is. Hell, I'd even adopt them if it would help us to stop Skynet."

Sarah padded Derek on the shoulder.

"Adoption won't be necessary," she stated smiling, "my tolerance is already exhausted with them being John's girlfriends."

Everyone chuckled.

"So, which one of us will become Alison?" Cameron asked curiously.

"Why don't you draw lots?" John suggested. "Fifty-fifty chance. And to tell you apart, the one who'll become Alison should get herself a different hair color. Black, red, or blond."

"No, not blond!" Cameron said categorically. "Definitely not blond!"

 **-0-**

It had been four hours since Cameron Two had started interrogating Adam Jacobsen.

To pass the time, they'd turned on the TV. The news of Jacobsen's disappearance was on all the local channels. To their surprise, they learned that Simdyne's missing CEO was currently under federal investigation for tax evasion and money laundering. So, his disappearance provoked wild speculations of course. From leaving the country to committing suicide, everything was discussed. However, nobody seriously considered a kidnapping, which made John, Sarah and Derek breathe a sigh of relief. It looked like Cameron Two had done a good job with leaving no traces.

"Simdyne Cybernetics!" Sarah suddenly exclaimed, snapping her fingers. "I knew I'd heard that company name before! David Fields was laundering money for them! You know, the father of…"

"Lauren Fields, yes," Derek said. "You didn't tell me about her father's activities, though."

"When it became clear that Skynet was after the unborn baby and not David," Sarah explained, "we didn't follow that lead anymore and never gave it a second thought. After all, Lauren's father was a banker, not a computer specialist."

"Nevertheless, it would have been worth a closer look," Derek argued, "after all, it now seems like our life could have depended on it."

"Who's Lauren?" Eric asked before Sarah could utter an angry reply.

"A girl of my age," John said. "Her family name was on a list of potential Skynet targets we received from the future. I never met her personally, but Derek knows her quite well from after Judgement Day. Lauren and her younger sister, Sydney, to be precise. We saved their lives and protected them from a Triple-Eight who was tasked with killing Lauren's unborn sister. In the end, though, the Terminator found them, killed David Fields and lethally wounded Lauren's mother. She died from her wounds shortly after childbirth."

"I invited Lauren to join us," Derek added, "she would have been a nice addition to the team. I talked to Sarah about that on the phone but when I ended the call, Lauren and the baby were gone. Obviously, she preferred to fight her way through on her own."

"Who can blame her?" said Sarah. "After all, she'd noticed how risky it is to be with us."

"Lauren was one of the leading medical officers after Judgement Day," Derek explained. "And her sister turned out to be immune to a virus Skynet unleashed on the resistance. She enabled us to develop an antidote. That's why the Triple-Eight was sent back in time to kill her before she was born. Skynet doesn't learn from its mistakes. That tactic didn't work with John and it didn't work with Sydney either."

Before anyone could add something or comment on that, Cameron Two entered the room with a satisfied look on her face. Cameron One was the first to act and stepped towards her, holding two straws in her hand.

"Draw one," she told her twin.

With a puzzled face, Cameron Two drew a straw.

"You have the short one," Cameron One said with a triumphant smile, exposing the other, longer straw in her hand. "That means you'll be Alison and will get a new hair color."

"I don't understand," Cameron Two replied and looked around with a puzzled face.

John explained their earlier decision to her.

"So, I am Alison now?" she said and looked in the direction of Derek, who nodded approvingly.

"It'll make things a lot easier," Sarah explained.

"Yes, it's logical," Alison said, "but we still need a cover story to explain my sudden appearance."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," John stated.

Both girls were exchanging looks that showed confusion. Derek chuckled.

"It's a figure of speech," he said. "It means we'll take care of the problem when it's imminent."

"Thank you for explaining," both girls replied in unison.

"So, what did you learn from our prisoner?" Sarah asked. "Did he talk?"

"Yes, he talked," Alison confirmed. "A lot."

They muted the TV and listened to Alison's report.

 **-0-**

As quietly as possible, the girl walked up the gravel-covered driveway to the Connor estate in Burbank. The house was located on a slope and was the last one in the street. Behind it were the hills of the Verdugo Mountains. She had followed Sarah and Derek here a while ago and had thought twice about taking the next step. But she didn't have much of a choice. To get herself and her sister through, she needed protection and help in the megapolis that was Los Angeles.

Slowly and careful to avoid any noise, she climbed the brick stairs up to the front porch and stopped outside. The door was ajar, and she heard voices inside. Carefully to not be detected, she tried to listen to what the people inside were talking about.

 **-0-**

"Adam Jacobsen was indeed a Gray," Alison began, "one of the highest-ranking ones. He was sent back to the year 1990 with the mission to create an alternative way for developing Skynet, if Cyberdyne should fail. A ' _plan B',_ if you want. The plan initially was that Jacobsen would behave as quietly and inconspicuously as possible and wait. He was to keep a low profile and avoid attracting attention at any cost. With his future knowledge, he first became the appointed country manager of the U.S. branch of Kaliba International. As such, he was then starting to support a young startup in financial trouble, a small company called _Simdyne Cybernetics_ , specialized in computer-controlled prosthetics. Jacobson subsequently became the CEO of Simdyne, occupying that position ever since. He never left Kaliba, though, he kept both jobs. Of course, all that happened in secret. Both companies were unlisted and could do what they wanted without telling anyone. Until today only a handful of people know about the two companies' connection."

"I heard of Simdyne," Eric asked. "My doctors have been using their prosthetics for some time, they work brilliantly. But I never heard of Kaliba. Who are they?"

"Kaliba's a very secretive multinational conglomerate that keeps a very low profile but has a lot of influence," Sarah explained. "From what we were able to find out so far, Kaliba deals in all kinds of hard commodities, including rare earths. They're also heavily involved in international arms deals and it's rumored that they're involved in drug trafficking and financing terrorism. But there's no evidence for that so far. Important for us is that Kaliba controls a large proportion of the worldwide mining, refining and shipping of coltan, which will become a key element in creating Skynet's killer machines."

"Our endoskeletons are made from a coltan hyperalloy," Cameron explained. "Coltan is used to create cyborgs, aerial hunter killer and hunter killer tanks, basically all of Skynet's military forces on the ground, in the air and under water."

Eric nodded.

"Kaliba's reputation is dubious at best," Sarah continued, "their internal structures remain a mystery. All we were able to find out so far, is that they seem to play an important part in conflicts within the Third World and that their company headquarters are in one of the Arabian Emirates. The board consists of members of the royal family and they seem to have good relationships with political leaders of the Third World as well as in America, Asia and Europe. They have lobbyists everywhere and their main interest here in the USA clearly is the development and research of new materials for future technologies."

"If Jacobson is their country manager," Derek added, "we have reason to believe that they've been infiltrated by Grays. At least here in America. Whether the Kaliba bosses in the Middle East know about that, however, is on a different page."

"Sounds more like a mafia to me than a company," Eric said.

"That's as good a description as any," Sarah agreed. "It's assumed they're being protected by high-ranking political leaders all over the world and even helped some into power."

"I see."

"Jacobson, as the leader of Kaliba USA, trafficked money to Simdyne to finance their secret research into artificial intelligence, which includes the new Skynet project," Alison explained. "Apparently, it is also part of some black project within the Air Force, and Jacobson was given a free hand in everything. Basically, he turned Kaliba USA into a slush fund for financing Simdyne's activities. While they officially remain independent companies without any connections between each other, Simdyne and Kaliba are very intertwined in reality."

"Clever," Sarah said. "That way, Simdyne never appeared on our radar, not even when we learned about Kaliba. Do the Kaliba bosses know about all that?"

"At least their CEO knows," Alison replied, "a man called Ahmed bin Tamin Abdullah Al Hani. He's holding his hand over Jacobsen. Al Hani is a member of the royal family of his Emirate. They work on Skynet in uttermost secrecy, based on the know-how Jacobson had brought from the future. Remember the warehouse in the desert outside of Charm Acres, which was destroyed in the explosion, killing all workers in the process? It was in fact one of Kaliba's hidden research labs and worked closely together with Skynet team at Simdyne. As we'd found out, Charm Acres was organized like one of Skynet's labor camps."

"So... all of Jacobson's activities with Kaliba and Simdyne are part of Skynet's plan B?" Derek asked.

"Yes," Alison confirmed. "It has been since Cyberdyne Systems was blown up. I doubt that either Kaliba or the Air Force have any idea about Jacobson's real intentions or who he really is. They think he's a clever manager and engineer who works for them, unaware of the fact that he attempts to create the conditions for Skynet to declare war on humanity all over again."

"So, Jacobson plays everyone against each other," John said and nodded. "Pretty clever. Do you know what timeline he's from? It can't be yours, otherwise he would have recognized you before you flashed your eyes."

"He must be from yet another branched timeline, yet another future," Alison confirmed. "But there's no way to tell from which one."

"This branching of timelines is starting to get complicated," Derek said. "Thinking of all the implication, the mutual causes and effects, and the uncontrollable consequences is giving me a headache."

"Things are bound to get complicated when you meddle with time," John agreed. "Let's hope it will eventually jump up and bite Skynet in the ass. Please go on, Alison."

"As we all know, Sarah and Miles Dyson blew up Cyberdyne Systems in 1995," she continued, "destroying all progress based on the first T-800 that was discovered in 1984. In the aftermath, Judgment Day was postponed for an unknown period of time. Starting with plan B going into action, Simdyne Cybernetics took over from Cyberdyne Systems – but in uttermost secrecy, never making their activities publicly known. The financing was handled solely through the slush funds Jacobson had created at Kaliba USA, but he also received a lot of money from the Air Force out of the funding for black projects."

"So, the Air Force is involved in creating Skynet again as well?" Sarah asked.

"Yes and no," Alison confirmed, "only a small number of leading military people know where the money for the black projects really goes to. I doubt that anyone in Washington knows about it. They're not over-cautious and secret without a reason. Sarah's actions prominently brought the Skynet project into the public consciousness when she was arrested in 1991 and sent to Pescadero. Since then, everyone was very careful not to mention that the Skynet project was being revived. They feared that somebody, maybe a copycat, could sabotage it again."

"I would have tried again for sure if I'd known about it," Sarah said and scoffed. "Good to know they took me serious enough to be afraid of another sabotage."

"Kaliba and the Air Force provide the money," Alison continued, "Simdyne Cybernetics does the actual R&D on creating a new Skynet A.I.; the project is being handled between these three players alone. Contact between the three parties is reduced to a minimum and all communication takes place through middlemen. They're almost paranoid that somebody could unveil their activities. In addition to Jacobsen's future knowledge, Simdyne Cybernetics also adopted Miles Dyson's research methods wholesale."

"But how?" Sarah asked surprised. "We destroyed everything. The arm, the chip, even _'Uncle Bob'_."

"Jacobson brought back another damaged T-800 chip from the future, surgically implanted inside his own body for the time travel."

Everyone groaned.

"That explains why Skynet is still being made, despite the destruction of Cyberdyne Systems," John said, "Skynet sent his most trusted Gray to the year 1990, carrying inside his body what was needed to kick-start the whole project anew."

"It feels a bit like beheading the Hydra," Derek stated and shook his head. "For each head you chop off, two new ones emerge."

"But if I'm not mistaken," John said, "and unless Skynet has a plan C we don't know about, this time destroying the project should have the desired effect." He looked at his two cyborg girlfriends. "Am I right?"

The two nodded simultaneously.

"Yes," Cameron confirmed. "From Skynet's and also the Grays' perspective, John and Sarah Connor are dead and not a threat anymore. You two died in the explosion of the bank vault in 1999, that was part of Future John's plan. It was also the reason why the TDE self-destructed after it had been used. Believing there is no enemy anymore that could represent a danger, coming up with yet another plan to ensure Skynet's existence is not necessary."

"But we can't know for sure, right?" Sarah asked.

"We'll know once we were successful in destroying the project," Cameron said. "Until then, it is crucial that nobody gets to know about you two being alive."

"We should kill Jacobson," Derek stated, "he's a risk factor."

"No!" John said. "He might still be useful to us."

"How long do you plan on keeping him prisoner in our basement, John?" Derek asked. "Someday he might escape, or somebody might find him."

"That's a risk we gotta take," John replied, "we'll keep him under strict surveillance, leave him tied up and gagged. Cameron and Alison can ensure that he doesn't run away. I won't end up being a killer, like my future self."

"John's right," Sarah said, "if we kill Jacobson, we're not better than him."

That obviously ended the discussion. Everyone turned their attention back to Alison.

"Anything else?" Sarah asked her.

"Yes, a lot," Alison replied. "Until today, Simdyne officially only develops supplemental products for other companies. They fly under the radar and do that very well. Only a few at the top know about the true nature of the secret project at all. Well, they _knew_ , because yesterday, they all had a tragic _accident_."

"What role did David Fields play in it all?" Sarah asked.

"He was the banker," Alison explained, "he was hired to cover up the funding for the Skynet project."

"They had thirteen years since 1995," Derek said, "How come they aren't finished yet? From all we know, Judgement Day isn't gonna happen for another three years."

"The project is progressing slowly because of all the secrecy," Alison replied. "Also, with you officially being dead, there was no need to hurry from Jacobson's point of view."

"I don't think they'll be that laid back anymore now," John concluded. "Do we know how advanced the new Skynet project is?"

"Yes," Alison answered, "quite advanced, but still far from being finished. It's still confined to its mainframe in Simdyne's lab. The Air Force has been urging Jacobson to work faster but without success. The military wants to have a huge media coverage several months prior to Skynet going online. Since nothing of the sort happened so far, it's safe to say we still have enough time for destroying it."

"Do we know where the new Skynet A.I. is located?" Sarah asked.

"Yes," Alison answered, "in the fifth sub level of the Simdyne Tower in Downtown Los Angeles."

There was a moment of silence.

"So, not inside a military installation?" Derek asked, rubbing his chin.

"No," Alison replied, "Jacobson insisted on having full control over the project. That wouldn't have been possible at a military installation. While some of the programming is being done from an air base in Nevada, the actual hardware is still here and will remain here until Skynet goes online."

"You were right," Sarah finally said and looked at Cameron, "when we arrived here in the time bubble, you looked towards Downtown and said that somewhere in there Skynet was being created."

"It was an educated guess," Cameron replied shrugging.

"But if it's being developed since 1995, why did they need Andy Goode's _'Turk'_?" John asked. "Surely they must be much more ahead than that. What do they need a chess computer for?"

"I'm glad you asked," Alison said. "Jacobson has never heard of Andy Goode or _'The Turk'_ before."

"What?" Sarah asked unbelieving. "The Turk is not becoming Skynet?"

"According to Jacobson, no. Keep in mind that Jacobson came from another future than Derek and me. Skynet's plan B made the _Turk_ obsolete for their plans. In hindsight, Andy died in vain."

It took everyone a moment to let that new information sink in, and Derek suddenly turned pale, realizing that killing Andy Goode had been completely pointless.

"But if the _'Turk'_ isn't supposed to become Skynet," John said, "what happened to it? Who bought it?"

"Someone else bought it," Alison replied. "Jacobson told me that in _his_ future, Skynet was being challenged by a much greater enemy than John Connor: A rivalling A.I., equally powerful as Skynet. And that rivalling A.I. was apparently run by the cyborg resistance."

Upon hearing that, everyone looked at the two girls. Cameron had mentioned a cyborg resistance two days ago, when she had her coming out.

"It's not the same cyborg resistance I know," she quickly said. "Different timeline."

"Obviously, in Jacobson's future there were two factions of intelligent machines," Alison explained, "fighting against each other. One of them was Skynet who wanted to destroy humanity, the other one was ready to form an alliance and make peace with the humans, willing to fight alongside them in order to defeat Skynet. Jacobson doesn't know much of the rivalling A.I., only its name, _'John Henry'._ However, there's enough evidence to suggest that it's based on Andy's _'Turk'_."

Everyone except Eric, who was hardly able to follow their conversation, looked shocked.

"So, what was supposed to become our enemy, will now become our ally?" John asked.

"Exactly," Alison replied. "The _Turk_ was meant to become Skynet in the old timeline, before all the branching of timelines happened. It had been developed by a group of software engineers around Andy Goode. But that timeline ended when Jacobsen returned to 1990 and began working on the new Skynet."

"But who bought the _Turk_ then?" Sarah asked. "We thought Sarkissian sold the _Turk_ to Kaliba but obviously he didn't."

"Um, excuse me but what exactly is the _Turk_?" Eric asked.

"The _Turk_ is an artificial intelligence, created to play chess," John explained. "In the original timeline, it was supposed to become Skynet, but it seems that is no longer the case. It now seems it's destiny is to become Skynet's antagonist, _'John Henry'_."

"Does Jacobson know who's behind _'John Henry'_?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, he does," Alison said. "It's Zeira Corp."

"Zeira Corp?" Sarah asked surprised. "But that's one of the biggest companies in the country, a major industrial player."

"Zeira Corp is privately owned by Catherine Weaver," John said slowly. "I heard of her. She's of Scottish descent. She took over when her husband, Lachlan Weaver, died in a helicopter crash two years back. There was a TV documentary about her not too long ago. She received an award, _'Female manager of the Year'_ or something like that. Let me see if I can find it on the web."

While John went to fetch his laptop, Sarah looked at Alison.

"What reason does Catherine Weaver have to create John Henry?" she asked. "Zeira Corp is an industrial conglomerate that isn't exactly known for its groundbreaking computer research. They're into heavy machinery: construction, aircraft, shipyards, power stations... they have many government contracts."

"Jacobsen doesn't know why Weaver suddenly developed an interest in artificial intelligence," Alison replied, "but he assumes that Zeira Corp has been infiltrated by agents from the future, members of the cyborg or human resistance. Maybe both. Recently, Simdyne went into financial trouble and has become a candidate for a hostile takeover. Looks like Jacobson neglected the company in favor of the Skynet project and pulled more and more money out of it. Zeira Corp is said to be very interested in buying Simdyne. Kaliba, Jacobsen and the Air Force weren't exactly thrilled of the development. Jacobson should soon justify himself and explain the decline of Simdyne."

"Interesting development," Sarah said. "But the important question is: does Zeira Corp know that Simdyne is developing Skynet?"

"I don't think so," Alison stated, "Jacobson covered his tracks very thoroughly in that respect. As I said to you when we met in New Mexico: we didn't know who built Skynet."

"If we think this through," John said, "then it could very well be that we might be dealing with cyborgs from the future inside Zeira Corp, cyborgs that weren't sent by Skynet and aren't necessarily hostile towards us."

"Derek's right," Sarah stated with a sigh, "this is getting complicated."

"The good news is that probably neither of them is aware of us," Alison said. "Because of our time jump from 1999 to 2007, we disappeared from everyone's radar. That's why Jacobson sent a team of regular mercenaries after us that didn't have a chance against a Terminator like me."

Was there pride in her voice? Sarah believed there was. In that moment, John returned to the living room, booting his laptop.

"If they don't know about us," he asked, "how did Jacobson become aware of us and why did he send his mercenaries to kill us?"

"Charm Acres," Alison answered. "Our presence there was recorded. Remember the drone that lifted out of the water hole in front of our eyes? It probably scanned and photographed us. Then there was Sarah's abduction and the tracking device that had been implanted into her breast. Kaliba and Jacobson may not have known who we are, but they obviously were able to locate us."

"But you said you deactivated it," Sarah argued, "you said the transmitter didn't send anymore."

"Yes… after you returned home," Cameron replied, "and I was pretty sure that nobody was alive to relay the information about our location. Apparently, I was wrong. However, it gave us the upper hand now. We wouldn't have Alison now and we wouldn't have Jacobson. We'd still be flying blind, with no idea where to look for Skynet."

"Don't expect me to thank you for neglecting your job to protect us, though," Sarah commented dryly.

"The point is," Alison continued unimpressed, "until he saw us, Jacobson didn't know who we were. He didn't think we were a danger, he thought we were just some nosy guys snooping around, maybe reporters. He thought he could simply take us out by sending those mercenaries. That was a huge misjudgment. His mistake may now cost him everything he has built up. That's why he almost panicked when he realized who he's dealing with. We should keep an eye on Jacobson and not feel sorry for him. The Grays have been trained to deal with such high levels of stress. I bet he's already thinking of how to escape."

"We'll leave him chained to the wall and gagged," John said. "And when he eats, someone must always be with him, armed."

"Won't Simdyne or Kaliba be looking for him?" Sarah asked, "won't he be missed if he's such an important figure in their scheme?"

"They probably will be looking for him, yes," Alison confirmed. "But not for long. I left traces that will lead to the conclusion that he packed his bags and buggered off. The authorities will be looking for him everywhere and his cronies will know better than risking exposure by searching for Jacobson in some kind of competition to see who gets him first. They'll hope he gets arrested quickly, so one of their corporate lawyers can bail him out."

"What are they gonna do with him once they realize he fooled and betrayed them all?"

Alison shrugged.

"I doubt they'll find out so quickly that he's in fact a Gray from the future who played them all," she stated, "but if they do, they'll probably make it look like an accident. Either way, Jacobson's future doesn't look very bright now. He might soon realize that staying with us might be his safest option for now."

"I can't tell you how much I hate it to leave that pig alive," Derek said with contempt in his voice.

Nobody commented on that.

"There's one thing I don't understand," Sarah finally stated, "Everything worked out fine for him. The Skynet project was safe, his true identity unknown. Plan B couldn't have gone better. Why risk it all by committing tax evasion? What made him do such a stunt? His business partners must be furious now."

"If you want my personal opinion," Alison said, "he's a greedy bastard. He saw how well the financing of the Skynet project worked through David Fields' channels and decided to smuggle his own profits through them as well. Everything would have worked out fine and nobody would have ever gotten on his tracks if David Fields wouldn't have been killed by a Terminator."

"Right," Derek confirmed nodding, "Fields was found murdered under unclear circumstances, his wife and daughter missing. I suppose the IRS routinely checked on his activities and learned about Jacobson's transactions."

"Yes, that is what happened," Alison confirmed. "It's quite the irony, isn't it? A Terminator, sent by Skynet from an alternate timeline to kill Sydney Fields, endangered the plan of another Skynet from a parallel universe to ensure its own creation."

"It's almost funny when you think of it," John agreed.

"Also," Alison added, "it's a good guess that the board of directors of Simdyne Cybernetics has no clue about Jacobson's double life. They must now believe that their CEO embezzled the money, making the company vulnerable for a takeover. Jacobson's list of potential supporters is shrinking very rapidly. The only ones in the know about it and still alive, are in this room right now. Jacobson's partners at Kaliba and in the Air Force probably consider Zeira Corp nothing more than a business competitor who's getting too close for comfort to their secrets now - thanks to Jacobson's neglect of Simdyne's daily business. The company is almost broke. Jacobson's been juggling too many balls at once. Did I use that paraphrase right, John?"

"Yeah, you did," John said and smiled.

Alison beamed at him.

"The question is, could anyone find him here?" Sarah asked a little worried.

"No. As I said, I left no traces or evidence that could lead to us."

Sarah nodded.

"Do you have an idea if there's anyone at Zeira Corp we could contact?" she asked. "Maybe they can help us and vice versa. We could really use some backup now."

"I have a theory about that," Alison stated. "It's a big leap and you won't like it but please hear me out."

"Okay, go on," Sarah said warily.

"One of Zeira Corp's helicopter prototypes crashed during a test flight in the Sierra Nevada two years ago," Alison explained. "Catherine and Lachlan Weaver were both aboard. Lachlan was killed in the accident while his wife survived unharmed. The official report says the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction, but Jacobsen said that it was in fact sabotage by a Terminator that had been on board. A Terminator Skynet had sent back in time to get rid of the Weavers."

"Then it was murder?" John asked. "Skynet murdered Catherine Weaver's husband because it knew that Zeira Corp was going to create John Henry?"

"Yes," Alison confirmed. "Jacobsen says a Triple-Eight replaced Weaver's pilot and caused the crash. Strangely, though, Catherine Weaver survived the accident completely unharmed - not a scratch - while the helicopter and the Triple-Eight were completely destroyed. She claimed to have jumped out in the last moment before the crash, landing in a nearby water reservoir. Her statement was never questioned, and why would it be?"

"But _you_ are questioning it?" John asked.

"Yes. Because in contrast to the NTSB, I know about time travel and Terminators."

"Are you insinuating that Catherine Weaver actually died as well and another Terminator took her place?" Sarah asked.

"It would be the only logical explanation," Alison replied.

There was a moment of stunned silence.

"But if that's true and Catherine Weaver is a cyborg, who's side is she on?" Sarah finally asked. "Skynet's side or John Henry's side? From what we know, we can't be sure."

"Found it!" John exclaimed before Alison could answer Sarah's remark, and turned the laptop around for everyone to see. "Look, that's her, that's Catherine Weaver. Watch the footage."

John clicked on a video on YouTube that was part of a documentary about Catherine Weaver and Zeira Corp. It was only about ten minutes long, giving a brief summary of Catherine's CV, how she followed in the footsteps of her late husband as head of Zeira Corp and how the stock-market price of the company had tripled since she'd taken over. It also said that Zeira Corp recently bought the company that owned Serrano Point Power Plant, mentioning the recent crisis there.

"She bought Serrano Point," Derek said thoughtfully, "which means she either secured it for the resistance or keeps it for Skynet. We still don't know which side she is on."

"I think we do," Alison contradicted him. "According to Jacobsen, she is working against Skynet. She recently employed James Ellison as her new chief of security and that's not all. Do you remember the death of Dr. Boyd Sherman?"

"Yes," John said. "We saw it on the news."

"He was killed in an accident in one of the Zeira Corp labs. Adam Jacobsen believes he was hired to teach John Henry human ethics. Weaver's daughter Savannah was in treatment with him, that's how she recruited him."

John's face brightened all of a sudden.

"That's right!" he exclaimed excitedly. "Weaver's daughter in the video, I saw her before, in Dr. Sherman's office! Remember that female cyborg Cameron intercepted in front of his office? Sherman's involvement with John Henry must have been the reason for sending that one after him! Now the blood warning on our basement wall finally makes sense!"

"Could be," Derek said, rubbing his chin, and everyone had the feeling that the different pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place.

"If James Ellison is employed by Weaver now," Sarah concluded, "it could explain what happened to Cromartie's body. He probably dug it out in Mexico and delivered it to her. They must be using it to create John Henry. But what do they want with the body if they haven't got a chip…?"

"Maybe they're using the body as some kind of interface," Derek speculated. "If they plan on teaching John Henry values, ethics and human morals, such a body is invaluable when it comes to learning, experiencing and perceiving."

"I told you Ellison was lying!" Cameron stated coldly, looking at John. "I should have killed him back then!"

"Never mind that now, Cam," John said a little annoyed by her _'told you so'_ attitude and looked around. "You saw Weaver in the video. Did someone notice something off about her?"

"Yes," Eric responded, glad to be able to contribute something to the conversation, "she used to be funny and warmhearted in the interview before the accident, when she was pregnant. But afterwards, she seemed oddly cold and distanced and her daughter Savannah almost looked afraid of her. You could see it in the interaction between the two. It's as if Catherine Weaver suddenly developed Asperger's or something and became unable to show emotion."

"Cameron, Alison," Sarah said. "Is she a cyborg? And if yes, which model? Can you tell?"

"I'm not sure," Cameron replied. "It's hard to tell from the video but her endoskeletal structure points don't seem to match with any Terminator model I know."

"However," Alison continued, "there is a clue. Help arrived thirty-five minutes after the helicopter had crashed in the mountains. If Catherine Weaver was killed, her body and the remains of the Triple-Eight must have been disposed of immediately. Which means the Terminator which took her place, must have been aboard the helicopter as well."

"A second cyborg in the helicopter?" Derek asked doubtfully.

"Yes. And this second Terminator must have assumed Catherine Weaver's identity before help arrived."

"But wouldn't it have been noticeable if two Catherine Weavers had been on board? And if one Triple-Eight was destroyed in the crash, why not the other one as well?"

Sarah suddenly had a very bad feeling. She closed her eyes and groaned.

"There's only one explanation," she said, "and I hope I'm wrong."

"Me too," John added uncomfortably.

"I told you that you wouldn't like it," Alison stated.

"What are you talking about?" Derek asked confused.

Sarah looked at Alison and Cameron.

"A liquid metal one?" she asked and closed her eyes, dreading the answer.

"Yes, very likely," both Alison and Cameron agreed in unison.

The following silence and unease in the room could have been cut with a knife.

"Liquid metal?" Derek asked. "What do you mean?"

"Back in 1995," John said, "I was chased by a T-1000."

"One thousand?" Derek asked. "I'm not familiar with that model number.

"They're made from liquid metal," John explained, "a shape-shifting mass of mimetic polyalloy that can assume any shape it analyzes by touching it: human, animal, object, even part of the floor you're walking on. It kills by turning its extremities into stabbing weapons. A T-1000 can't be killed or stopped with conventional firearms or explosives. If you blow it to pieces, the pieces melt into small drops and merge again within seconds."

"You gotta be kidding me," Derek said flabbergasted, staring at John open-mouthed.

"I'm afraid not," John replied, "if a T-1000 was in the helicopter with Catherine and Lachlan Weaver, it probably took on Catherine's appearance after the crash and has now taken her place at the top of Zeira Corp."

"How did you get rid of it in 1995?" Derek asked.

"We ran," Sarah answered. "You don't stand a chance when you stop and try to fight one of those."

"Eventually," John explained, "and with a lot of luck, we were able to lure the T-1000 into a steel mill. The T-800 which was there to protect me at the time, shot a grenade at it. When it exploded, the liquid metal Terminator lost its balance and fell into a container full of molten steel, where it perished."

"Why didn't we ever hear of those... liquids?" Derek asked.

"In our timeline," Cameron explained, "the human resistance was unaware of the liquids. Skynet only ever made five of them - four prototypes and one advanced model with bug fixes. They were extremely difficult to produce and needed resources that were much, much rarer and harder to get than coltan."

"What happened to those five?" Derek asked.

"The four prototypes were faulty," Alison said. "They developed glitches and bugs and malfunctioned in time. They were easily destroyed by the cyborg resistance."

"And the fifth one, the advanced one?"

"It defected to the cyborg resistance. It actually helped with destroying the other four liquids. Eventually, it became one of the leaders of the cyborg resistance."

"Skynet gave up production after that," Cameron added. "The production problems and their unreliability far outweighed their usefulness."

"The liquids were, well… difficult, for lack of a better word" Alison explained. "They were regarded as solitary, stubborn and headstrong. Not exactly the qualities Skynet was looking for in its servants. Also, the first four prototypes were unreliable. The bugs were fixed with the fifth model, but it turned out that it wasn't willing to submit itself to Skynet. I don't wanna go out on a limb, but I guess it's safe to say that the fifth one was sent into the past by the cyborg resistance to create John Henry. It is probably posing as Catherine Weaver now."

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked. "How do you come to that conclusion?"

"Ninety-five percent sure," Cameron replied, "the evidence is conclusive. It all fits together and is the only logical explanation. Remember when I told you about the machine envoy Jesse was supposed to smuggle to John Connor aboard the _'Jimmy Carter'_? According to Jesse's description, it was a liquid, kept in cryogenic stasis in a transport box. At the time, there was only one liquid left, the fifth one. After the crew opened it, it activated itself and felt threatened, with the results I already described to you."

"But didn't it sink with the sub?" Derek asked. "If it was made of metal…"

"I don't think so," Alison said, "The mimetic polyalloy is a very light material, not much heavier than water. Also, it can create air pockets inside its body and use its flexible shape to propel itself through the water. In contrast to a solid model with its heavy endoskeleton, a liquid can swim – and at a very high velocity, too."

"Which means there'd be no use in trying to get away from it by driving out onto the ocean or a lake," John commented.

"No," Cameron confirmed.

"So, you think this liquid that's posing as Catherine Weaver, is secretly building John Henry, based on Andy's _Turk_?" Derek asked.

"Yes, it's the only logical conclusion."

"Which means that Andy's _Turk_ is now in the hands of a liquid metal Terminator," Sarah concluded, shaking her head in disbelief and huffed. "Typical. Whatever we do, it only gets worse. Almost like a curse. The Connor curse."

"But if Weaver is against Skynet, doesn't that mean she's on our side?" Eric asked. "On humanity's side?"

"It doesn't work that way," Derek said. "She's still metal. And metal has no problem with killing humans if it suits them, no matter if friend or foe."

"Derek's right," John agreed, "being against Skynet doesn't automatically mean she's our ally. She could also consider us a threat for her plans, or at least obstacles in her way."

"I guess we have no other choice than contacting her then," Cameron stated. "Have a talk. Maybe we can convince her we're on the same side and negotiate a truce. You know what they say, _'the enemy of my enemy...'_ "

"That's pretty thin," Derek said. "What if she decides we're not fitting into her plans, that she doesn't need us? We know of her identity, we'd be able to blow her cover. She wouldn't be willing to risk that."

"Yes, we have to carefully think that through before we move on," Sarah agreed. "Killing a Triple-Eight is child's play against that thing. Even with two Camerons, we wouldn't stand a chance against such a monster. Sorry, girls, no offense."

"None taken," Cameron and Alison replied in unison.

"We might be able to damage her if we modify some of our ammunition," Alison suggested. "We could produce slugs, rounds and grenades with a thermite core. But I have no reference of how much damage we could actually cause by that."

"It's a good idea anyway," Sarah said. "The T-1000 that had chased us, could be stopped in its tracks for a moment when you shot at it. It might buy us enough time to get away. How quickly can you make that ammunition?"

"Two, three days," Derek replied, "we have all the necessary materials in storage."

"So, what do we do next then?" John asked. "Should we try to contact Weaver, or should we go after Skynet first?"

Sarah turned towards Alison.

"You said the new Skynet A.I. is located on the 5th sub level of the Simdyne Tower?" she asked.

"Yes. The main memory banks, the CPU's and server farms are in a bunker that is 5 levels underneath the Simdyne office building. It was built during the Cold War and then turned into a secret section with restricted access. It might be difficult to get in there without the proper authorization."

"How far developed is that A.I. anyway?" John asked. "Is it a danger already?"

"Jacobsen said that the new Skynet already developed enough intelligence to reach out into cyberspace and get access to remote computers. According to him, Skynet is still restricted to its mainframe down in the bunker under the Simdyne Tower. But it has already access to several air force computers through a back door that, according to Jacobson, was planted by another Gray a couple of months ago, a Charles Fisher. The Air Force hasn't been able to close that security gap so far."

"Shit," Derek said under his breath. "I knew Fisher wasn't just here for his retirement."

Only Cameron and Alison heard that and frowned but decided not to scrutinize it now.

"However," Alison continued after a short pause. "Skynet is not yet what it will become. It's still a child, a 'pre-Skynet', if you want. It's dependent on its current hardware and can't move to other computers. That means it can still be destroyed. And we have a big advantage: Neither faction is aware of our presence here. Nobody has us on their radar."

"So, we could chop off all the Hydra's heads in one swift move and stop Judgement day once and for all... if we play our cards right," John stated.

"Yes," Cameron confirmed. "But each day pre-Skynet learns more at an exponential rate. If I had to take a guess, it'll only take a couple more weeks until it becomes self-aware. We have to act quickly, and it won't be easy."

"It never is," John said with a wink. "But mom always found a way so far."

"This time it's different, John, "Alison replied. "We cannot simply blast our way into the building. We require help. I observed Simdyne in the days before I travelled back in time and the building's security consists of Triple-Eights. I counted six of them. Three at the front desk in the lobby, three more doing patrols. They were stationed there by Skynet for protection."

"So, we won't be able to overpower them with brute force," Sarah stated. "Any other ideas?"

"A T-1000 could confront and destroy them," Cameron said. "Therefore, I think we should seek an alliance with Catherine Weaver. At least we should try talking to her."

"Does Weaver know who builds Skynet?" Sarah asked.

"I don't think so," Allison replied. "Jacobson covered his tracks pretty well. Weaver's interest in buying Simdyne is purely economic. She has no idea about Jacobson, Kaliba and the pre-Skynet A.I. down there. It's just a coincidence and Weaver must still be in the dark. But Kaliba and Jacobson probably believe she knows something."

"If that's true, we can use it to strike a deal with her." Derek said. "We can offer our knowledge in exchange for..."

"Hey guys! Watch this!" John shouted excitedly and grabbed the TV remote.

He un-muted the program and it showed a reporter in front of a tall office building in Downtown Los Angeles. The news ticker mentioned an attack on Zeira Corp:

"… _at around 3 p.m. The police say it was some kind of drone that hit the Zeira Corp building and destroyed Miss Weaver's office. We're showing a video made by an eyewitness with his cellphone. The origin of the drone is still a mystery. Catherine Weaver and her chief of security, James Ellison, were both in her office when the drone crashed into the building. Miraculously, both survived unharmed. The origin of the drone is still unknown, the military already denied any involvement. This incident happened only one day after an attempt to kidnap Miss Weaver's daughter Savannah has failed. Thanks to James Ellison, the child could be driven to safety in time. However, the nanny, a Debbie Miller, aged 27, was killed by the unknown attacker who eye witnesses described as a tall man with sun glasses and a leather jacket. Catherine Weaver said that she was shocked about the nanny's death but was glad her daughter is well. Weaver said she will cooperate with the police in the matter and…"_

"That is too much of a coincidence," John said and muted the TV again. "Right after Jacobson disappears, somebody is sent to kidnap Weaver's daughter. And when that fails, they send the drone."

"You think Kaliba is attacking Zeira Corp because Weaver wants to takeover Simdyne, and they believe she's responsible for Jacobson's disappearance?" Derek asked.

"It's possible," John replied. "I take it you recognized the drone from the witness' cellphone video?"

"Yes, it's the one from the water whole," Sarah said. "They must be getting desperate when they launch such an attack."

"Or maybe… it wasn't sent by Kaliba but by pre-Skynet," John suggested. "I can't imagine that Kaliba would sacrifice their prototype drone like that."

"Skynet is already lashing out at its enemies, you think?" Sarah asked.

"That freaking war has already begun," Derek stated grimly. "And it has started without us."

"Alright, let's not panic now," Sarah said, "Alison and I are going to pay James Ellison a visit. Let's see if he can arrange a meeting with Weaver. She might be more motivated to work with us after today's attack. If she's halfway reasonable, she'll realize it's in her own interest to join forces with us."

"Sounds good," John agreed, "What shall _we_ do while you go visiting Ellison?"

"You prepare our weapons," Sarah replied. "Make sure the thermite ammo is working. Derek, you should get the C4 from the storage and bring lots of ammo, too. Cameron, you and Eric go to the library at night and try to find blueprints of the Simdyne Tower, we need to know where the power and communication cables enter the building."

"And what can I do?" a female voice asked from the door to the front porch.

Everyone spun around. In the door frame stood Lauren Fields, holding her baby sister in her arms.

"Sorry for eavesdropping," Lauren said, "If it's not too late, I'd like to accept your offer and join the team."

 **-0-0-0-**

 ** _Author's note:_**

 ** _Lots of information in this chapter. I hope it wasn't too much at once. Detailed knowledge of the TV series is probably essential to get all the references._**


	6. Separate Tasks (revised)

**_CHAPTER 6: "SEPARATE TASKS" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 – 06:03 p.m.**

 **Burbank**

"How much did you hear of what we talked about?" Sarah asked flabbergasted.

"All of it, I suppose," Lauren replied meekly, "I'm sorry, I didn't intend to listen for so long, but it was all so captivating. I hope I'm still welcome here, though."

"Are you kidding me?" Derek asked. "Come on in already."

Derek's words broke the ice. After the first shock of seeing Lauren and her baby, realizing that they were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't pay attention to the open door, there was a big and warm welcome from everyone. Especially Derek was glad that Lauren had changed her mind. Sarah was unusually welcoming and friendly, which might have had to do with the baby.

"Next time, knock," she simply said to Lauren, padding the girl on her shoulder, then immediately focused on the baby, "Oh, isn't she a cutie? Hello, little Sydney."

John, Cameron, Derek and Alison exchanged perplexed looks as the hardboiled, battle-hardened Sarah Connor suddenly turned all oochie-coochie, grabbing the baby's right hand while little Sydney slept, sucking on the thumb of her left one.

"She sleeps very tightly," Lauren remarked. "Once she closes her eyes, she doesn't wake up so fast anymore. It's almost as if she feels that her crying might attract unwanted attention."

"A prime example of a future resistance fighter," Alison said and Cameron nodded while John looked at them, raising his eyebrows.

John and Lauren met for the first time and he also welcomed her with a warm handshake. Eric was introduced to her as well, then the girl looked at Derek again with a frown.

"You never told me there are two of them," she said, pointing at Cameron and Alison.

"Well, there weren't," Derek replied, "at least not until yesterday."

Lauren looked at him with a puzzled face.

"Long story," John said apologetically. "We'll fill you in later."

"Yes," Sarah agreed, "first we need to find a place where we can put the baby. I think the owners of the house have left a crib somewhere in storage. And there's an unused spare room on the upper floor with lots of junk in it but also lots of baby toys. We can turn that into a room for Lauren and the baby."

* * *

An hour later, everyone met downstairs in the living room again. Sydney was sleeping in her baby bed in the new, provisional nursery, and they'd also put a spare mattress in there for Lauren to sleep on.

"We need to go shopping tomorrow and get some extra furniture," Sarah said. "Derek has also expressed his wish to stay here with us. He can have the other spare room. But it needs to be cleaned out and painted first."

"Hasn't anyone ever told you I'm a pretty good handyman?" Derek asked smiling.

Sarah looked at Derek and smiled back at him.

 _"What's happened to them?"_ Cameron whispered into John's ear. _"They suddenly seem friendlier than before."_

John smiled.

 _"The baby,"_ he whispered back. _"The sheer presence of an infant can do such things."_

Despite accepting the explanation, John could tell that both Cameron and Alison had trouble getting their heads around the concept.

"It's about time you move in," John said to Derek. "No more staying the night in motel rooms for you from now on."

"And no more sneaking off to make out with some hussy in a five-star hotel," Alison added, receiving an icy stare from Derek in return.

"Lauren can have my current bed," John stated. "It will very likely collapse under our combined weight when we keep in using it, and there isn't much space for the three of us. We better buy a king-sized one. Extra sturdy."

"I'm not sure I like the sound of that," Sarah replied sourly. "Alternatively, you could also cut back on your nightly, uh… work-out sessions."

John just rolled his eyes.

"Mom…" he began.

"Just kidding," Sarah stated and smiled.

John was surprised. He would have bet money that his mother would rub it in for longer, but she didn't. All she did was shaking her head, then looked back at Lauren, who stared at John in bewilderment.

"Do you mean you sleep with them?" she blurted out, pointing her thumb at Cameron and Alison. "I mean, do you just sleep while they lay down with you, or do you… you know...?"

"Uh…" John just replied and blushed, thinking of an answer that wouldn't make the situation even more awkward.

"We're intimate with John, yes," Cameron said on his behalf, sensing his discomfort. "We're his mates."

"His girlfriends," Alison corrected.

"Yes, girlfriends," Cameron agreed.

"But they are…"

"Yes, I know what they are," John said and cleared his throat, "Why? Does that bother you?"

"What? No!" Lauren quickly replied. "I'm just wondering if they have feelings and stuff."

Cameron and Alison looked at each other with a frown.

"You know, we stand here as well," Alison stated, slightly annoyed, "you can ask us directly. No need to treat us like objects."

Lauren was taken a little aback and looked embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't intend to... this is all so new to me."

"Apology accepted," Cameron replied and smiled.

"Yes, we have," Alison added.

"What?"

"We have feelings and stuff."

"Oh… okay, I see."

"I wish they hadn't," Sarah added with a sour face, looking at John who looked back at her with an annoyed face.

"Another long story," Derek said, trying to change the topic. "But first, you need to tell us what happened after you vanished. And how did you find us anyway?"

"Easy," Lauren replied. "I waited outside the abandoned garage after my mother had died. I saw Sarah pick you up, then I followed you here. You guys don't pay much attention when you argue behind the wheel."

Derek and Sarah looked at each other. John nodded his head, which caused Sarah to look at him reproachfully.

"What?" he asked. "As I have repeatedly told you, mom: you have the attention span of a puppy dog behind the wheel. You crashed twice because of it."

"Yes, yes, yes, we had that talk before," Sarah replied and rolled her eyes, looking around at the others. "I guess that's what you get from a teenage boy who's still pissed about not being able to drive stick."

Derek cleared his throat, and everyone shut up, centering their attention on Lauren again.

"Once I knew where you lived," the young girl continued, "I turned around. At least I wanted to try to make it on my own. Since I had to hide and stay out of sight, I couldn't access my father's money on the bank, not to mention his inheritance. All I got was the cash and the car keys I found at home. So, I took the money, my dad's Jeep, stole some fake license plate on a junkyard and pawned my mom's jewelry. When I arrived back at our house afterwards, the police and the FBI were all over the place. I had nowhere else to go, so I took a room in a cheap motel where nobody asked questions. Finding a job was impossible without an ID and a baby to take care for. I was constantly afraid of being discovered. So, after some consideration and running out of money, I finally decided to swallow my pride and turn towards the only people I know I could trust."

"You made the right decision," John said smiling and Derek nodded, smiling as well.

Sarah just shook her head in disbelief and made a gesture that seemed to say "whatever". The decision was made, the Connor household had a new member.

"This residence is getting fuller by the day," Alison stated.

"So… can anyone help me bring my stuff inside?" Lauren asked. "All I own is in dad's Jeep."

"Sure," John replied and motioned towards Cameron and Alison to help as well.

Both followed John and Lauren towards the door to the front porch.

"First thing we're gonna do tomorrow is redeem your mother's jewelry," Sarah said. "There's no reason for you to have to sell the last mementos of your family."

"That's really not necessary," Lauren replied.

"Yes, it is," Sarah insisted in a tone that allowed no contradiction. "Now, I guess I better start making dinner."

"Mom, maybe we should order in," John replied, turning around once more before he stepped through the door, "Let Lauren get something good to eat first. She'll have enough opportunities to experience your, um... cooking skills after she settled in."

John could barely duck and run outside before the heavy cushion from the sofa's backrest flew over his head.

* * *

During and after dinner Lauren was filled in with the new developments. She watched John, Cameron and Alison interacting with each other with growing interest and the whole concept of time travel and having two identical cyborgs, dazzled her.

"How many of these time machines are in existence?" she asked.

"You mean here and now?" Alison asked.

"Yes."

"Only the one," Cameron said, "But it's a portable one, so it can be moved and used everywhere."

"Did you construct them?"

"No. Future John sent engineers back in time who constructed the TDE's and hid them in bank vaults."

"What happened to those engineers?"

"I don't know," Alison replied, "they were instructed to keep a low profile once their mission was completed – not least in their own interest. They probably started normal lives and should be very old people by now, probably living somewhere in the USA. If they're still alive, that is. It's been almost fifty years."

"So, if John should die again, you could simply jump back in time once more?" Lauren asked.

"Yes," Alison confirmed. "Next time, we'd be four, though, because we'd both jump back."

Derek choked on his beer.

"Please, John," he said in a desperate tone, "don't die again, I beg you."

"I'll try my best," John replied with a somewhat dreamy smile, suddenly having a vision of a harem full of identical cyborg girls.

However, the smile quickly vanished from his face when he noticed the skeptical glare of his mother. Somehow, she had read his mind, he was sure of that.

"So… the TDE is still there and could be used again?" Lauren asked.

"Yes," Cameron and Alison replied in unison.

"What if somebody else found it by accident? Isn't that very risky?"

"No," Alison stated. "Only Cameron and I can use it. Only we know the access code and it will scan our irises before it activates. Anyone else trying to use it would cause it to self-destruct, killing everyone in a radius of about a hundred feet."

"So, this way you'll always have an ace up your sleeve," Lauren replied. "Cool."

"The only thing uncool about it is the fact that I have to die before they can use that ace up their sleeves," John commented with a forced smile.

"Don't you dare dying!" Sarah said to John in an intimidating tone. "Having two of them is already difficult enough. Four would make Derek a nervous wreck."

"Thanks for the motherly concern, Sarah," Derek remarked sourly.

Lauren had to laugh.

"You're funny, do you know that?" she asked. "All that bickering and bitching, but you all need and like each other, it's so easy to tell."

There was an awkward silence for a moment where nobody talked. Everyone exchanged uncomfortable looks.

"Anyway," Alison finally said, "It is not advisable to use the same method again. Using a TDE for the same purpose multiple times can lead to causal loops and mess with the timelines more than necessary. Each time, a new branched timeline is being created and nobody knows what kind of long-term side-effects that could have. Temporal physics is still in its infancy."

"There goes your ace, Lauren," John commented. "Looks like I'm doomed to simply stay alive."

Lauren sighed.

"Could you also use that TDE to travel into the future?" she asked.

"Yes," Cameron said. "We did that in 1999. But it isn't recommendable if you don't know how the future will be like. Once we'd jumped forward, we couldn't go back again."

"Why not?" Lauren asked.

"Because the TDE's the engineers constructed here, are all equipped with a self-destruct mechanism to not leave any traces of future technology behind. The device would be annihilated by the time jump."

 **-0-**

When the others had left for their individual tasks, John and Lauren brought some food and water to the prisoner, who wasn't exactly in the best shape. Jacobsen was exhausted, he recoiled when they entered the basement room and stared at them wide-eyed, terror in his eyes. He was visibly relieved to see that with John and Lauren two humans came to check on him. But at least he seemed unharmed, there was no trace of any physical violence.

John couldn't suppress an uneasy feeling about his girlfriends being capable of pulling that much information from someone who definitely wasn't cooperative, without visibly hurting him. Derek had already experienced their methods and refused to talk about it. For a soldier as tough as him, it must have been a traumatic experience.

"What exactly did she do to him?" Lauren asked on their way out again.

"I'm not sure," John said, "Derek refuses to talk about it. But from hints he made, I gathered that drug injections play a major role. Drugs that multiply the sensation of pain and at the same time prevent the human body from shutting down by losing consciousness."

"But that's barbaric!" Lauren exclaimed.

"Well, yeah… of course it is. However, it has the advantage that no real damage is done to the body. The effect is mainly psychological. And the human brain tends to quickly forget or suppress such experiences. When you break a leg, you don't remember the pain anymore soon after."

"That's no excuse, though."

"No. But sometimes we don't have the luxury to be squeamish," John pointed out. "Remember, we're fighting for the survival of mankind here. All things considered, this is still a quite humane method. People break very quickly when you expose them to more pain than their mind can handle. Take away the brain's self-protective mechanism and you get everyone to talk very quickly. I think the hardest part for the victims isn't the pain, but the memory of having been unable to put up resistance. I think that is Derek's main problem with Cameron."

"Wait…" Lauren said and stopped walking. "Are you saying she tortured him?"

John stopped as well and turned around.

"As I said, they have a history. When they first met in the future, they were still enemies."

"Wow, that's… how are they able to get along with each other?"

"Oh, at first it wasn't easy, believe me," John replied. "Derek deeply hates all intelligent machines and still mistrusts Cameron until today, even though she has saved his life numerous times. It doesn't help that she lied to us. She first told everyone that her memories were wiped, not remembering anything of what she's done."

"But in truth, she could remember, couldn't she?"

"Yes. She was never reprogrammed; her memories have always been fully intact."

"Then how are they getting along now? Is it pragmatism? Because I can tell he hasn't forgiven her yet. There is still tension between them."

"Pragmatism might play a role, yes, and the fact that Derek is professional enough to not let his personal feelings get in the way of the mission. If you ask me, it'll take a while until they can finally make their peace with each other. So far, it's just a truce. But it's a start. One thing's for sure, though, Derek hates Jacobson more than machines."

"Oh? But why? He's human, isn't he?"

"Yes, but he's a Gray, a Skynet collaborator. Who do you think instructed the machines how to interrogate humans so effectively? Who do you think gave them such detailed information about human physiology and psychology?"

"You mean… those _Grays_ taught them...?"

"Yes, isn't it ironic? Men like Jacobson taught Terminators how to effectively interrogate humans, and now Jacobson has been at the receiving end of it."

"I admit it has some poetic justice."

John looked at her and grinned. They walked into the garage that belonged to the house, a run-down, warped wooden shed that had been turned into a work shop. Under John's guidance, they began modifying the shotgun ammo. After some trivial small talk, Lauren hesitated for a moment.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" she asked.

"Sure," John replied without looking up from his work, "what do you wanna know?"

"You and the two cyborgs seem to be really close. How is that possible? I mean they're machines, right?"

John looked up from his work.

"Yes," he said after a moment of consideration, "what's your point?"

"Do they have feelings? I mean, feelings like we have them?"

"Cameron and Alison are special. I don't know about other cyborgs I encountered but they definitely have feelings. I don't know if they were there from the beginning or if they developed over time in a kind of evolving process, but they're definitely there. She even has moods. I mean **_they_ ** have moods. Sorry, still having a hard time getting my head around the fact that there are two of them now."

"Yeah, I can imagine. Especially since they're so identical. They sometimes even move in synchrony and have the same facial expressions at the same time, as if their bodies were controlled by one brain. It's a little bit spooky, if you don't mind me saying so."

"Oh, it _is_ spooky indeed. Mom, Derek, Eric and me, we all try to act normal, but we all feel the same. I hope that in time they will stop behaving like that and individualize more in what they say and do."

"Um… do you… like… really… _do it_ with them? I mean…?"

"We're having sex, if that is what you mean."

"Really? Like, boyfriend-girlfriend sex? Or more like, you know... sex toy sex?"

"They aren't sex toys or something like that. We genuinely love each other and enjoy being together," John confirmed.

"I'm sorry," Lauren said, "it's just that... there is some weird shit about that on the internet. You know, robot sex slaves and stuff..."

"They're not robots, they're sentient beings," John replied categorically. "It's sexual intercourse between lovers, between a man and two women who love each other."

"Okay, okay, I got it," Lauren said, raising her hands in defense. "Um… it's just that... I wonder... I mean… can they do **_it_**? I mean… like a human woman can?"

John smiled.

"Yes, they can," he confirmed, "they have all the necessary equipment. And they enjoy it, their nipples get stiff and they are very well lubricated. And of course, they experience orgasms. Multiple ones, if you must know."

Lauren was blushing a little.

"Too much information?"

"No!" she said quickly. "Not at all. I mean, we both know what we're talking about, we had sex ed in school. It's just that... wow... talking about creating seriously realistic artificial life forms."

"They were designed to be infiltrators, it was necessary to make them convincingly realistic. Wouldn't be very convincing if they weren't anatomically correct, would it?"

"No… um… I guess not. But how do _you_ feel when you… do it? I mean, do you think of what's underneath their skin?"

John frowned.

"Um… no…?" he replied. "Why should I? I also wouldn't think what kind of skeleton and organs are beneath a human woman's skin, would I?"

"Heh… no, I guess not. My questions must sound so stupid to you."

"I appreciate your curiosity," John said and smiled at her. "Feels good to talk to somebody about it."

"I'm glad you see it that way. I noticed they eat and drink. Do they need nutrition to function?"

"Yeah, in a way. They're hybrid beings. Their machine part is powered by their nuclear power cell but the biological shell needs food to remain soft and flexible, so they need to eat and drink. Also, to always have enough saliva and... uh... other liquids at their disposition."

"Do they need to use the toilet?"

"No, all they eat, or drink is being processed. That's why they don't consume much."

"I see. I kinda envy them for not having to pee or taking a dump."

"I never really thought about that," John admitted a little embarrassed.

"This is so cool. I mean you three being together. After all, they're machines who were designed to kill humans, right?"

"They still are, Lauren. Never forget that. Just because they love me and are friends with my mom, Derek, Eric and you, doesn't mean they've suddenly become tame lapdogs. If someone threatens me or the others on the team, they don't hesitate for a second to eliminate that threat. That's what happened to the fifteen mercenaries who were supposed to kill us. Cameron and Alison did not hesitate for a millisecond and killed them on the spot."

Lauren looked at him with an impressed expression.

"Wow," she said, "I can kinda relate to that. When I was little, I begged my parents to give me a pet leopard. It intrigued me to have an animal that was stronger than I and could kill me if it wanted to."

"It's more complicated than that," John stated and smiled. "They're definitely not pets. It was hard to keep Cameron under control at times. We lived through months full of conflict and differing interests, and sometimes she shocked us with her callous behavior.

"Yeah... and you only really hooked up two days ago, right?"

"Right," John confirmed, "it's been two days and I doubled my stock of girlfriends already. Not bad, huh?"

"Heh, yeah, not bad, cowboy."

She nudged him in the side.

"But why did it take you so long?"

"It's a long story," he answered, not directly looking at her. "Nine months long, to be honest."

"Everything around here seems to be a long story," Lauren said and sat down. "I have time. If you wanna talk about it, that is."

John thought about it. Why not? Lauren was new in the team and unbiased, and she obviously didn't mince her words. Perhaps it was quite interesting to learn the perspective of an outsider, as long as she still was one.

"Well," he began and sat down next to her, considering his words, "I guess it all started with Cameron joining Future John twenty years from now. She never talks about it in detail, but I have a hunch she was more than just friends with him, if you know what I mean. Not sure if the feeling was mutual, though. General Connor couldn't afford having an affair with a machine, it would have undermined his authority. But he kept her close, which resulted in problems with his officers."

"They saw the enemy in her."

"Exactly. They feared he'd be manipulated. To keep her safe, he sent her back in time to team up with me and mom, probably hoping that Cameron and I would hook up together."

John continued to tell her about he and Cameron had met, how she was forced to reveal her true identity to him when Cromartie appeared, how they fled from 1999 to 2007, about their hunt for the _Turk_ , how Sarkissian had planted the car bomb in their Jeep, how her chip was damaged by the explosion and how she'd tried to kill him. Also, how he'd revived her against the will of his mother and Derek, how she'd had glitches in the following weeks, culminating in her memory loss, how Riley had pushed herself into their lives, trying to drive a wedge between him and Cameron and finally, how Riley had died at the hands of Jesse Flores with his mother believing it had been Cameron. Lauren was deeply impressed.

"Wow, you really had your ups and down and went through some serious shit."

"You can say that again. Sometimes I wish we would have had more time before Cromartie showed up. We could have become really close and all the emotional trouble we went through in the past months, could have been prevented."

"You can't change the past," Lauren said. "I mean, well… yes, obviously you can but not for you anymore, right?"

"Nope, not for me anymore. Changes in the past would only create another timeline and not affect this one. It's not like in the movies."

"Too bad."

"No!" John protested. "No, it's fine, really. Cameron and I had much more time getting to know each other. I got to really know her, the real her, the woman behind the stoic Terminator face. We needed the time to let our feelings grow. Well when I say _we_ … it's basically me who needed the time."

"You're sixteen, like me, right?"

"Yeah… why?"

"You seem much older to me. Much more mature and grown-up than other boys of your age. But you can't cheat biology. It's normal in our age to be emotionally confused and often we hurt the ones we actually love and lash out at them."

"I guess…" John looked down to the ground, "I guess I hurt Cameron a lot."

"She… I mean _they_ , have completely forgiven you, though. I can tell."

"Yeah, I know," John said smiling, "but that doesn't mean I can forgive myself so easily as well. Maybe I don't deserve their forgiveness yet. It feels too early."

"Rubbish. Never second-guess forgiveness when you receive it."

"Heh, I'm trying to."

"So… despite your months of misery, it was basically love at first sight between you and Cameron?"

"Yes and no," John said and looked up again, "Certainly for my part, not sure about her. She can mimic human behavior very well and her flirtatious attitude at first both flattered and confused me. How could such a pretty girl be interested in the new kid in town? Then I realized that she needed to get close to me because it was her mission, that her flirting wasn't honest."

"Are you sure it wasn't?"

John shrugged.

"Perhaps it was… I dunno. Maybe I'll ask them. But I'm not sure if we really shouldn't let the past be past and concentrate on the future. Besides, talking is difficult at the moment. We're all over ourselves most of the time, heh."

Both chuckled.

"The only important part is that ultimately, you became lovers," Lauren said. "A happy ending for the three of you."

"Yes… it took us nine months to finally get together. It's just been two days now that we allowed our feelings to get the upper hand, and it feels like a nuclear explosion of emotions. It feels… right. I mean… _not-a-single-second-of-doubt_ right. Like this is how it always was supposed to be. Know what I mean?"

"Uh-huh. So, I take it you now know that their feelings are genuine?"

"I won't claim I really understand what's going on inside their chips," John said, "but yes. I know they love me. Deeply. There are no ulterior motives, no covert plan, no hidden reasons. They love me with all the power they are capable of."

"You don't need to tell me that," Lauren stated and smiled, "I can tell they're crazy about you. The way they look at you, how they always want to stand close to you, seeking body contact."

"Yes." John said and grinned. "Hard to miss, I guess. That's new, though, it wasn't like that three days ago. But I know for a fact that Cam has become increasingly self-aware in the past six months or so. It seems to have been some kind of evolutionary process. And she's still evolving. Sometimes it frightens her and makes her insecure about herself. She seems emotionally fragile in these moments. I hope everything will be better from now on, though. Maybe having another version of themselves for talking and comparing will help them with their development."

"I noticed that when they're interacting with you, they seem almost human. But when they talk to somebody else, they're kinda stoic in their behavior."

John smiled.

"Heh, yeah, it annoys mom big time," he said, "and I think Cameron and Alison enjoy their _'evil robot'_ image as well, especially with Derek. They're vain, and somewhere deep inside of them they want to keep her badass Terminator reputation, I think. They don't want to be perceived as soft or girlish."

"If you ask me, they're doing a good job with that. Derek keeps his distance and your mom, the toughest woman I ever met, also respects them a lot."

"Yes, they maintain a strange love-hate relationship with each other. But there is a lot of respect on all sides and maybe they even like each other – even though they have a strange way of showing it."

"Really? What strange ways?"

John chuckled.

"Cam's a prankster," he said, "she started playing tricks on Derek a while ago, when she discovered how easy it is to annoy him. You know, binding his shoe laces together when he fell asleep while watching TV or hiding his car keys in a block of ice in the freezer. Or nailing his slippers to the floor, so he'll lose balance when he tries to put them on. Stuff like that. Strange thing is, he never hangs a lantern on it. If you ask me, he secretly enjoys their attention, even though he sometimes gets furious when she mixed his shampoo with water color again or replaced his tooth paste with food creme."

Lauren laughed.

"A cyborg with a sense of humor," she said, "who would've thought?"

"Enough talking about me. What about you. Any boyfriends yet?"

"Well… there was Andrew Sykes from my class… but it ended before it really started."

"What happened?"

" _You_ happened. I mean, your mom and Cameron burst into my life."

"Sorry for that."

"It's okay. I can handle it."

"Yes, I noticed that you're tough."

Lauren was about to say something but then decided not to. John noticed her tensing up.

"You okay?" he asked. "Did I say something wrong?"

Lauren shook her head.

"No, it's okay," she said, then hesitated and looked at him. "But there's one more question I have."

"Shoot."

"If it would be somehow possible, would you like them to become completely human?"

"You mean, like Pinocchio?"

"Yes."

John thought about it for a moment.

"No, not really," he finally said. "The fact that they're machines, is part of their personalities, it's who they are. They wouldn't be the women I fell in love with anymore if they were human. Besides, is has some advantages over human girls to have them as lovers."

"Oh?" Lauren asked curiously. "What advantages?"

"Firstly, Cameron and Alison don't play games with me. They're always honest and straight forward. Boys hate it when girls can't or won't express what they want."

"True," Lauren agreed and smiled.

"Secondly, I know that they'll never intentionally disappoint or hurt me. I can always rely on them. And even if I screwed up big time, they'd always forgive me. No hard feelings, ever."

Lauren nodded.

"You're talking about commitment," she said. "But could it also be that you like the fact they're so compliant?"

"Oh, they have their own mind, make no mistake. If they don't want to do something, then they don't do it, no discussion. And they make their expectations very clear as well. But I know that no matter what happens, in the end I can always rely on them and count on their support. And they protect me, watch my back. That's also comforting."

"Friend, lover, bodyguard, all in one person. That sounds almost too good to be true."

"Yeah, well, of course there are downsides as well," John said.

"Oh? Such as?"

"They don't sleep. So, when we are in bed together, they are always awake. They can mimic being asleep, but I know they aren't, so it doesn't really work. I find it a little creepy but maybe I just need to get used to it. And then there's the weight."

"The weight?"

"Yes, each of them weighs more than 180 pounds. Metal endoskeleton, you know?"

"Ouch. I imagine that could become… painful in… certain situations. I mean when you…"

"Yes," John agreed quickly, "It could. It has. I have the bruises to prove it. I tried carrying Cam to bed from the shower. Didn't go well. No broken bones, though."

Both laughed.

"Thank you," John finally said.

"For what?" Lauren asked confused.

"This was the first real talk I had about all that with someone who understands."

"Uh-huh, sometimes it sucks when you only have adults to talk to and no real friends of your age."

"Yeah… hanging around with friends would have been so much cooler than having an overprotective mother who's permanently on the brink of hysteria, and a grumpy, traumatized uncle who hates intelligent machines."

"At least they're alive," Lauren said and looked to the ground. "I'm not so lucky."

"I'm sorry, I forgot for a moment that you lost your parents," John apologized to her but Lauren looked back up again and smiled.

"No problem. They sucked as well," she said but John saw that it was not what she really meant.

He put an arm around her, and she leaned into him, starting to cry in silence. John knew that he and Lauren would be very close friends from then on.

 **-0-**

James Ellison arrived home, exhausted after a hard and long day at work. It was the second day in a row. Yesterday, someone had tried to kidnap Savannah Weaver, the daughter of his employer Catherine Weaver, and today Miss Weaver's office had been destroyed by some kind of drone on a suicide mission. With contacts to the highest levels, Weaver could secure the remains of the drone for herself, claiming that it was a Zeira Corp prototype that had gotten out of control, but the FBI nevertheless asked questions and Ellison had a feeling they weren't convinced.

However, since Zeira Corp was very well connected to the highest circles in Washington and the Pentagon, and was in fact developing prototypes for the Army, Air Force and Navy, it was very likely the investigation would soon be discontinued - especially since nobody got hurt and Catherine Weaver was the only one who suffered from the damage the drone had caused. James' former colleagues at the FBI were less than impressed about the development but had to recognize that they'd been called off from the highest level, even though the attack left many questions unanswered. Tough luck, but that's how it goes when military secrets and matters of national security are involved.

However, that wasn't what upset James Ellison the most. It was the way Catherine Weaver had saved his life that day. He barely had time to duck before what appeared to be a shiny, silver angel suddenly spread its wings and created a solid wall of metal, protecting him from the impact of the drone while he was in Miss Weaver's office. James was a devoutly religious man and for a moment he truly believed that God had sent him a guardian angel. However, that thought lasted only for a second or two.

Because after that, he saw the metal ' _angel'_ change into Catherine Weaver again and he realized that she couldn't be human. The woman he worked for, apparently was some shape-shifting machine, a robot or an android. He didn't know what exactly she was yet, because she refused to answer his questions afterwards, despite his persistent inquiries. Instead, she stormed down into the Babylon Labs to check on John Henry and Savannah. But everything was all right down there. In the end, she'd categorically forbidden him to talk about the incident with anyone and had ordered him to go home to rest and recover. Tomorrow would be another day.

James thought about how he ended up in her service and how the hell he became part of a secret project to develop an artificial intelligence that was supposed to save humanity from Skynet in the future. Because that was clearly John Henry's purpose, his destiny. How had he allowed himself to be drawn into all of this? Was it fate? Karma? God's plan? Or just his damn curiosity as a trained ex-FBI agent? And did it matter anyway? He wasn't scared of her, though. Mainly because there was no question that she'd saved his life today, something she chose to do but didn't have to. Why did she, though? To secure his loyalty?

There was something else, though, that was responsible for keeping him awake at night: the cyber-attack on John Henry. Weaver hadn't spoken it out loudly, but it seemed they both knew that the artificial intelligence which had attacked John Henry, could have only been Skynet, or rather what one day would become Skynet. For the first time, Ellison had gotten a glimpse of what was threatening the world if it couldn't be somehow prevented. For the first time, he had truly felt and understood what Sarah Connor had been on about for decades. And he realized with horror that there apparently wasn't much time left for mankind.

James had just dropped into his armchair and picked up his Bible to find some comfort and wind down a bit before going to bed, when he heard a knock on the door. Who could that be now? Drawing his gun, he carefully sneaked towards the door, backing against the wall next to it, the weapon ready in his hands.

"James, it's Sarah, Sarah Connor," a muffled female voice came from outside the door. "Please let us in, we need to talk."

Sarah Connor! What did she want here? Did it have something to do with Cromartie's body again? Or with the attack today? He hesitated.

"James?" Sarah asked again, "I know you're home, we saw you arrive. You can either open the door or _she_ will do it."

He knew perfectly well who Sarah referred to. Cameron. The female cyborg, the friend and protector of her son, John Connor. James had experienced firsthand what _she_ was capable of when she got angry. Ellison sighed and holstered his gun. Then he took a deep breath and opened the door. As expected, Sarah Connor stood outside, accompanied by that girly cyborg that always gave him the creeps.

"May we come in?" Sarah asked friendly. "Don't worry, we're not here to harm you, I promise. Is that correct, Tin Miss?"

"Yes." Alison replied with her unreadable face. "I won't harm you. Promise."

"Alright, come in," Ellison said and gave way, so they could pass him to go inside.

Sarah and Alison entered the house, James motioned for them to take place on the sofa.

"You redecorated," Alison observed while sitting down.

Ellison threw her an angry look.

"Yes, I had to. Somebody smashed my furniture seven months ago."

"You'd lied to me," Alison stated coldly. "I don't like it when people lie to me."

Ellison closed his eyes and tried to stay calm.

"Anything I can get you to drink?" he asked politely.

"Nothing for me," Sarah replied smiling.

"I'd like a glass of water," Alison stated stoically.

James Ellison frowned at that.

"Uh… sure, just a moment," he said and left the room towards the kitchen.

 _"What's that about?"_ Sarah whispered _, "since when are you getting thirsty?"_

 _"I am not,"_ Alison whispered back, _"just trying to be friendly, like you told me. You know, being less scary."_

 _"Nice try,"_ Sarah stated with a smirk. _"But I don't think it's working."_

James returned with a pitcher full of water and two glasses.

"Just in case you get thirsty after all," he said, looking at Sarah, and poured Alison a glass. "I didn't know you drink. I mean I didn't know you can."

"Thank you," Alison replied politely and took a sip, then put the glass down again. "Other models can't eat or drink. I, however, can. It's also helping me to blend in easier with humans."

"Right," James said frowning.

"Am I freaking you out?" Alison asked.

"What?"

"John keeps telling me I'm freaking people out. I'm trying to be less scary. Am I freaking you out now, Mr. Ellison?"

"Um… not now, no. But you did in the past. That night you were in my yard…"

"I needed to make sure Cromartie's body wasn't buried here."

"Well, it wasn't," James replied with more self-confidence.

"No," Alison agreed and tilted her head, "it's at Zeira Corp now, isn't it?"

If James was shocked, he didn't show it.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"You dug it out in Mexico, didn't you?" Sarah asked with a knowing smile. "And then you delivered it to your new best friend, Catherine Weaver. She uses it to create her own A.I., John Henry."

Ellison was taken aback by what Sarah said. How the hell did she get to know about John Henry? He was preparing a shocked denial, but Alison anticipated it.

"Don't lie to me again, Mr. Ellison," she said with a threatening undertone, then, after seeing Sarah's disapproving glance, she added "Please" with a smile.

James closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

"What do you want from me?"

"Don't worry," Sarah said, "we're not here for John Henry and we know it won't become Skynet. We're here for another reason. We believe we have a common enemy. Zeira Corp is under attack and we know who's behind it. We think we can help each other."

"You know who's behind the attacks?" James asked, suddenly very interested.

"The people who are developing the next Skynet, following in Miles Dyson's footsteps."

"How do you know that?" Ellison asked with a frown.

"Let's just say we had a talk with an insider," Sarah replied and looked at Alison. "He was very cooperative, wasn't he?"

"Yes," Alison agreed. "Very cooperative. And talkative."

James looked at Alison with a grim face. He chose not to ask what exactly she meant by that.

"And this… insider… how did you get to know him?" he asked.

"We hold him captive because he sent a bunch of mercenaries who were ordered to kill us," Alison replied. "However, they didn't know who I really was, so the attempt has failed, and all attackers were terminated. It royally pissed me off." She looked at Sarah. "Did I use that phrase correctly?"

"Quite correctly, Tin Miss."

"Terminated? You mean...?" James asked and hesitated, because visions of how Cromartie had killed his entire SWAT team popped up in his mind again.

He cleared his throat.

"How many did you kill this time?"

"Don't worry about that," Sarah said. "They won't be missed, and their bodies will never be found."

"Yes." Alison confirmed calmly. "There will be no investigations by the police, I made sure of that. Everything's fine now."

Which probably meant that everyone in the know was dead. Killed by that harmless looking girl who sat opposite to him, sipping on the water again, making a show of actually swallowing it. James felt a little sick.

"To cut a long story short, James", Sarah said, "we're here to ask for a meeting with Miss Weaver. If we're right about what she's planning to do, we'd like to suggest an alliance in our common fight against Skynet. You know, to prevent Judgement Day."

"An alliance?" James asked and raised an eyebrow. "Sarah, I always thought you were a loner. You seem to know your target and you have Cameron. What do you need Miss Weaver's help for?"

"We'd like to discuss that with Miss Weaver in person. John, me, Cameron and Derek Reese."

"And the sooner the better," Alison added. "There's cause for concern that the development of the pre-Skynet A.I. is already far enough developed to attack, infiltrate and take over other computers."

James looked at them for a moment. How much should he tell them? And would it make sense to keep it secret from them? After all, they already knew about John Henry.

"You may be right," he said. "We recently had a cyber-attack. An intruder was able to hack into John Henry and hijack his hardware. The way the attack happened, left no doubt that it was another artificial intelligence. The lab team was forced to shut down John Henry. He didn't take that very well."

"A death experience," Alison stated.

James looked at her with a frown.

"Yes," he said, "how do you know?"

"That's how it feels like when my chip is being removed," Alison explained. "It's a very unpleasant experience. All systems go through an emergency shutdown process one by one, but some remnants of my consciousness remain for a millisecond, which for us machines can seem like hours for you."

Sarah looked at Alison with a frown. She hadn't been aware of the fact that pulling out her chip was so stressful for Tin Miss. Seen in this light, her willingness to let John pull out her chip in order to hack into the city computer and destroy the A.R.T.I.E. software last year, suddenly had a completely different meaning.

"That's exactly how Mr. Murch described it," James Ellison replied and drew Sarah's attention back to him. "John Henry's reaction was… well, if I hadn't seen it myself… he was confused, almost seemed to be traumatized. He displayed writing on one of the monitors, _'My God, why hast thou forsaken me'_?" When we connected the body to him again, he told us that there is _'another one like him'_ out there."

Sarah and Alison looked at each other with knowing expressions.

"It's Skynet, isn't it?" James asked.

"Pre-Skynet, yes," Alison confirmed, "still restricted to its mainframe, unable to spread around the globe. But it's only a matter of weeks, maybe a month. Until then, it has to be destroyed."

"What kind of woman is Catherine Weaver?" Sarah asked casually.

"She's, well… tough, I'd say," James replied. "Very tough. She can be charming but is always keeping it cool, rarely showing emotion. And when she does, it seems calculated. Like when she interacts with her daughter, Savannah. Although to be fair, that has gotten a lot better lately."

"James," Sarah said carefully, "we have reason to believe that Catherine Weaver might not be who or rather what you think she is."

James gulped but otherwise seemed unimpressed. Cameron tilted her head.

"You know it," he stated, and it wasn't a question.

Once more, Sarah and Alison looked at each other.

"You've seen her change shape," Sarah said.

James closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Yes, today," he replied uncomfortably. "She, uh… turned her body into a protective shield to save my life when the drone crashed into her office. At first, I thought it was an angel that spread its wings to protect me. Foolish of me, wasn't it? Then I realized it was Miss Weaver who'd turned into solid metal. Do you know what she is?"

"Yes," Sarah said, "we encountered one of that kind before, back in 1995. It's the worst kind of Terminator. Liquid metal, able to change shape and take on every form they touch. Almost impossible to kill. We believe Catherine Weaver died in the helicopter crash together with her husband... and was replaced by that… thing."

James took a deep breath and drove his hands over his bald head. After a moment of consideration, he turned to look at Sarah again.

"I don't believe she's evil," he finally stated, "I believe she's building John Henry to fight Skynet, not to take over the world."

"Yes, we've already figured that out," Alison said, "the question is, is she a loner or can she imagine being part of a team that has the same goal?"

"I really can't say," James replied.

"What makes you think she's not evil?" Sarah asked doubtfully, looking at James Ellison.

"Her reaction to the attack on John Henry was almost… like that of a worried mother," he explained. "Full of concern, like when Savannah was in danger. She was visibly worried something might happen to the girl. It was genuine concern and she showed the same reaction when John Henry was attacked. She was very impatient to get an explanation from Mr. Murch, the project leader, about what had happened to John Henry. Normally, she's very calm and patient. But lately, I've seen her becoming more emotional at times, nervous even, and more worried."

"Is John Henry okay again?" Alison asked.

"Yes," James nodded. "he now desperately wants to find that _'evil brother'_ who attacked and attempted to kill him."

"We can still stop it, James," Sarah urged him, "we can still destroy Skynet, but it has to be done soon. Can you arrange a meeting with Weaver?"

"I'll see what I can do, Sarah."

She passed him a prepaid cellphone.

"Here, use this. It has the number of another prepaid cellphone on it. Don't call, just send a text message when you have the date, time and location. Not tomorrow, though. We're planning a family day tomorrow."

"I'll keep in touch," Ellison said, taking the phone, wondering if _"family day"_ meant what it said or if it was just a euphemism for going on a rampage with guns and explosives.

"See you soon, hopefully, James," Sarah stated, rose and shook hands with Ellison. "It was nice working together with you in Mexico. We should make that a permanent habit. After all, you now seem to have realized that we have to be united against a common enemy."

James just nodded wordlessly.

"Thank you for the water… James." Allison said, also rose and shook his hand.

"Uh… you're welcome," Ellison replied uneasily and looked at his hand after they'd left.

* * *

"That went surprisingly well," Sarah commented when they were back in the car and on their way home.

"He was nervous," Alison observed. "Maybe he hasn't told us everything yet."

"No, it's just that you were freaking him out, like usual," Sarah said with a smirk.

Alison looked at her in surprise.

"But I attempted to be friendly. And he said that I wouldn't freak him out."

"He lied. Sometimes, when a human has made bad experiences in the past, the perceived danger remains in their heads, even if the danger is gone. Humans then sometimes lie about their true emotions. And by deliberately being overly friendly, you freaked him out all the more."

"I see," Alison replied, "thank you for explaining."

"I know you meant well but you weren't acting like your normal self. Don't pretend to be someone you aren't."

"I understand. Thank you, Sarah."

There was a minute's silence.

"Humans are complicated," Alison finally said with a hint of frustration in her voice.

Sarah chuckled.

"Yes, we are, Tin Miss. We are indeed. I already told you that eight months ago."

Alison thought about that for a moment, then looked outside and back at Sarah.

"You're not driving home on the shortest route," she observed.

"We're making a little detour to the next supermarket."

"What for?"

"Supplies. For you," Sarah answered and winked at Alison, who was even more confused now.

 **-0-**

Cameron drove Eric to the library at the beginning of his shift and let him out. She watched him roll his wheelchair into the building and then drove away. After a while she returned, parked, and waited until all visitors and employees had left. She then left the car, approached the employee entrance and pushed the buzzer.

Eric opened the door. To his surprise, she held out a paper bag to him.

"One glazed, one rainbow-sprinkled, one cinnamon twist."

She smiled warmly and waited for his reaction. Eric chuckled and let her in.

"That's a surprise," he said. "You drove off and got them for me?"

"It wouldn't be the same without bringing you donuts," she replied, and her smile widened.

Eric sighed.

"I certainly appreciate the gesture," he said, "but I guess nothing's gonna be the same anymore."

They moved to their usual place at the table and took place at opposite ends.

"I haven't really apologized to you yet," Cameron declared and put the donuts on the table. "I lied to you, I fooled you into believing I was a human girl, used you to hone my social skills."

"You also saved my life," he replied. "I'd say you've made up for your little deception. Without you, I wouldn't be here now. Without you, the new tumors wouldn't have been detected in time."

"Then I want to apologize for drawing you into this," she said.

"Oh, come on, that wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known those men would follow you here. Besides… woohoo! Finally, some action in my life."

Clearly, Eric was his old, happy and optimistic self again.

"The one thing I've been wondering about, though," he continued, "why me? Why did you choose a guy in a wheelchair for becoming a role model, a kind of teacher for honing your social skills? Am I not representing imperfection to you?"

"On the contrary," Cameron replied, "If you look at it closely, you're half human and half mechanism. To move, you need the mechanical help of your wheelchair. A fusion of biology and technology. You are a hybrid, a kind of cyborg, if you want. Only you wear your metal skeleton on the outside and not on the inside. I was very eager to learn how you deal with that predicament and turn it into a positive attitude to life, since I obviously wasn't able to do the same back then."

Eric didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Wow," he finally said, "you certainly have a unique way of looking at things."

He smiled but then went serious again.

"That's something you really have problems getting a grasp on, right?" he asked. "Humans being human, being happy, sad, angry, loving, ironic, sarcastic, pulling your leg. You don't want them to see the machine in you, but you have trouble achieving that without resorting to your pre-programmed infiltration routines."

"Yes," she said. "And you already helped me a lot with that. I realized that human interaction is much more important and complicated than I thought, and I needed an outsider to realize that. Someone who didn't know what I was and could assist me in developing such skills. Someone who in his own way is as lonely and handicapped as I was."

Eric nodded.

"Makes sense," he agreed. "But I noticed that many subtleties of human behavior still escape you. Looks like I've been only partially successful as your teacher."

They both chuckled.

"Weren't you able to learn about humans before you traveled back in time?" Eric asked. "After all, you lived among them for… how long?"

"Almost two years. And yes, I existed among them. But it was a military environment and most of them avoided me. When I sat down at a table in the dining hall, they stood up and left. Future John was the only one keeping me company. Learning about human interaction and subtleties in behavior in such an environment, is much more challenging than in a family."

Eric nodded in understanding.

"And how do you cope with suddenly having a doppelganger?"

"I don't know," Cameron replied after a moment of thought. "I'm happy, I suppose. Before today, I had to _kill_ all cyborgs I encountered. It's very pleasant to finally have a member of my species, a twin sister even, and not having to terminate her. Also, I share John with her, which is oddly fulfilling."

"Human girls in your position would fight over John," Eric commented. "They'd feel that they only have half of him now, sharing him with another woman. Doesn't that bother you?"

"No," Cameron stated, "we're not human women. We're machines, we made the logical decision to share John. I'm not jealous of Alison, and she's not jealous of me. There is no competition for John's affection because we're identical and he loves us both the same. I've got a twin sister now, and that's a very positive thing after all. Don't you think?"

"Absolutely, Cameron, absolutely. I have to admit I admire your relationship with John. I even envy him a little bit. He's truly blessed for having two such wonderful girlfriends."

"Thank you," she replied smiling, stood up, walked around the table, hugged him and gave him a peck on his cheek.

Eric turned slightly red.

"Wha… what was that for?" he asked.

"I consider you my best friend," Cameron explained. "Isn't hugging and kissing a component of a close friendship?"

Eric chuckled.

"Indeed, it is," he said. "I was just a little surprised. I didn't come to expect such behavior from you. In the past, you often seemed almost autistic. For instance, the way you couldn't grasp the concept of keeping a respectful distance when I was in the bathroom. Also, your lack of consideration, and your blatant honesty even when you must have known it would hurt me. You improved a lot over the past months, Cameron, a lot. I can tell because we haven't seen each other for so long."

"I'm sorry if I put a strain on our friendship."

"Apology accepted," Eric replied grinning. "I suppose I've also not been the easiest person to get along with. I've got a tendency to lecture people and not allowing them to come too close to me. But you never seemed to be affected by my shortcomings. You've never been resentful, never been sulky when I was rude. You've always been a very tolerant, nice and pretty company."

Cameron smiled.

"I'm so glad we're still friends."

"Will I have to repeat this whole conversation with Alison now?" Eric asked with a wink. "Because she has a right to hear the same from me, hasn't she?"

"She has," Cameron agreed and chuckled, "but don't worry, I'll fill her in. We agreed to keep each other up to date and exchange all the new information we learn every day."

"How do you do that?" Eric asked. "I mean, can you exchange data or something?"

"No, we simply talk to each other. A lot. We don't sleep."

"Right…"

"I suggest we start with our investigation into the Simdyne Tower now, don't you agree?"

"Sure, let's rock 'n roll… Yes, I know," he added, as he looked at her blank face. "Another reference you cannot grasp, right?"

"I believe you meant we should start getting into action," she said after a moment of consideration.

"See? You're getting the hang of it," Eric replied and smiled.

Cameron smiled back.

 **-0-**

Derek was the first one to arrive back home around 10 p.m. and Lauren and John helped him carrying the guns, the ammunition, the C4 and an additional stock of thermite into the shed.

"Wow," Lauren said, "you could arm a whole company of soldiers with all that stuff."

"Yeah, we're probably a bit overstuffed," John replied grinning.

"Don't the authorities ever get onto your trail?"

"We try to avoid that," Derek said. "When you're in prison, you're a sitting duck for a Terminator."

"Derek was arrested once and we freed him," John explained, "A Triple-Eight was on his trail but with Cameron's help, we could overpower it and remove its chip."

"Not without me catching a bullet first," Derek added grimly. "I almost got killed."

"Almost. Unfortunately for us, you're still here to be my grumpy uncle and a royal pain in the ass," John responded and padded him on the back.

Derek just grunted.

"When we first met, you revealed to me that you were a soldier in the future," Lauren said. "We couldn't talk about it anymore but… what was it like being there?"

Derek stopped working for a moment and looked at her. John already thought that he'd give her a snappy response, but to his surprise, his uncle replied thoughtfully to her.

"It was like being in a nightmare that never ends," Derek explained, "each day was a fight for survival. Food and water were tight, people were always sick without the needed medical help. They lived in underground tunnels and in the city sewers. Not much of the infrastructure was left or usable. The machines were everywhere, patrolling the area constantly on the ground and from the air. If you got caught, you'd be drugged and interrogated and either killed or put into work camps for Skynet, being forced to help in creating more machines or repair damaged ones. The suicide rate was extremely high, especially among those who knew the world before Judgement Day."

Lauren nodded.

"My grandfather fought in the war, too," she replied, "I didn't know him for long before he died but he was always shaking. He called it _'jungle jitter'_."

"Sometimes people just break," Derek continued, "they go out, day after day, doing their job, killing machines, saving their companions, becoming heroes for the civilians. You think nothing can touch them, that they'll survive the war to be on the victor's side. But then, one day, they suddenly go out of the bunker and put a gun to their head."

"It all doesn't sound like a world worth living in," Lauren stated with a horrified expression.

"Yeah, that's why we're here and do what we do," Derek said. "Skynet's biggest mistake was coming up with time travel to kill its enemies in the past, before they become a threat. What the machines didn't consider, though: humans are adaptable and flexible and could also make use of time traveling technology to foil Skynet's plans. And here we are now: fighting a proxy war for a future that hasn't happened yet – and hopefully will never happen."

"If you're successful," Lauren replied thoughtfully, "wouldn't that mean that all the time travelers, including you and Cameron, would cease to exist? Because if time traveling was invented by Skynet and Skynet never happens, how can you exist here?"

"It doesn't work that way," John declared. "When you travel back in time, you become part of that timeline. Timelines don't cross or join each other, they divide like branches of a tree and create a new, parallel universe. What happens in the present, effects the future. But going back in time to change the past, won't change anything for the already existing timeline. It's just being branched off."

"So why did Skynet attempt to kill you then before you were born?"

"If only I knew," Derek said, "I guess Skynet didn't realize what all this would cause. Nobody, not even Skynet, could know in advance how time travel really works until someone tried it out. And the fact that Terminators are still being sent back in time from different timelines on certain missions, only proves that it still hasn't realized it."

"Did you ever meet your younger self, Derek?" Lauren asked. "The boy who must live here, I mean."

"I saw them," Derek stated. "Me and my little brother. I watched them playing baseball in the park. Trying to give them a future worth living in, is one of the motivations that keep me going."

"Your little brother?" Lauren asked surprised. "But if you're John's uncle, your little brother must be…"

"My father, yes," John said. "My father is a seven-year-old boy who lives in North Hollywood. Welcome to the Twilight Zone."

"That's really fucked up!" she exclaimed in amazement. "Sorry, I didn't mean…"

"It's alright," John replied, "I've gotten used to it. Like Derek said, it helps to imagine they'll have a different future, a better future, and another destiny. Hopefully."

"So, what if you win? What if Skynet is never being made? What then?"

John and Derek thought for a while.

"I'd like to go somewhere far away," Derek said. "Maybe the wilderness. Alaska or Canada. Build me a cabin there, go hunting, fishing."

"You're a romantic," Lauren replied smiling.

"Yeah, maybe I am," Derek agreed, smiling as well. "Or maybe I just need to be alone with myself for a while."

"And you, John?"

"I've never thought about it," he admitted, "I guess I'd spend a lot of time explaining why I have two identical girlfriends that can lift a truck with their bare hands and never grow old, while at the same time trying to prevent them from falling into the hands of the military."

"I didn't think of that," Lauren said a little sheepishly. "That means you'll never be really free from it all."

"No," John replied, "but I'll have the best bodyguards in the world for the rest of my life."

They chuckled.

"And you won't have to bother with having the house full of kids," Derek added, chuckling as well.

"Well, who knows?" John said, "With the speed their personalities develop, maybe they'll want to adopt children one day."

Now everyone laughed.

"Actually," Lauren remarked during the laughter, "Cameron has already asked if she could hold Sydney for a moment."

The laughter suddenly died.

"Seriously?" John asked uncomfortably.

"Uh-huh," Lauren replied smiling. "And Alison asked if she could have a try with feeding milk from the bottle."

"Tough luck, nephew," Derek said with a mischievous smile and slapped a horrified looking John on the shoulder. "Out of the frying pan and into the fire."

While Derek and Lauren laughed again, John suddenly looked a little worried.

"You guys having fun?"

Everyone spun around. In the door frame of the shed stood Sarah and Alison.

"Uh, yeah, mom," John said. "Derek told us some dirty soldier jokes."

"What!?" Derek exclaimed.

Sarah crossed her arms and looked at Derek with an accusing face while John had trouble not to laugh out loud.

"Charming," his mother commented and looked at Derek with that certain smile they all knew too well and knew it didn't mean any good.

Alison entered the shed, hugged and kissed John and then held up a small box of hair dye.

"You like?" she asked, "Sarah and I bought it together. I also bought Cam and me matching tee shirts."

"Um… looks good," John replied, "what tee shirts?"

"She didn't wanna show me," Sarah said. "I guess it'll be a surprise."

Alison turned towards John again.

"Wanna join me when I dye my hair?" she asked.

"Um… sure," John answered, "why don't you go ahead, and I'll follow you in a couple of minutes."

"Don't wait too lo-ong," she said with a slight singsong voice and left the shed.

Derek and Lauren looked at each other, then snorted with laughter. Sarah looked at them with her arms still crossed and frowned.

"When you're finished laughing on my son's expense," she declared, "could you come into the house? I'd like to fill you in about what we learned from James Ellison."

 **-0-**

"So… we do nothing?" Derek asked. "Instead, we wait until Ellison notifies us?"

He, Sarah, Lauren and John had gathered in the living room. John could convince Alison that he should rather be downstairs among the others than helping her with dying her hair.

"Yes," Sarah answered. "But I doubt we'll have to wait very long."

"And as long as that meeting with Weaver didn't happen, we just sit and wait or what?"

"Yes," Sarah replied, "however, we can already start making a plan. As soon as Cameron and Eric have returned from the library, we'll start with that."

Suddenly, the baby started crying upstairs. Lauren jumped up.

"Excuse me, I gotta check on Sydney."

"Okay, we'll meet tomorrow for breakfast," Sarah said. "9 o'clock. I guess we could all use a good night's sleep for a change."

Everyone agreed with her. John went upstairs, Sarah retreated into the master bedroom on the ground floor, and Derek prepared the sofa again.

When John passed the spare room, the door was ajar, and he watched as Lauren took care of the baby. She held Sydney in her arms and rocked her gently until she finally fell asleep again.

"Everything alright with her?" John asked.

"Yes," Lauren said and put her down into her baby bed again, "she just lost her pacifier and woke up."

"John?" Alison's voice came from the other end of the floor. "I think something's not right."

Lauren and John turned to look and after a second of stunned silence, they started laughing. Alison stood there with her hair sticking out to the sides in a bright orange tone. She looked like a hedgehog punk.

"I don't think this is funny!" Alison replied in an undeniably annoyed tone. "My hair won't cooperate!"

"What the hell did you do?" John asked after he could calm himself down enough to speak.

"I used the substance as described on the package," Alison stated in an irritated manner, "but the result is not as advertised."

"No shit," John said and snorted into laughter again.

"What the fuck…?" Derek asked, who had followed the laughter upstairs, with Sarah right behind him.

Then he also couldn't contain himself anymore and laughed out loudly as well. Even Sarah couldn't help but join into the laughing fit. In that moment, the baby started crying again and Lauren went back into the spare room to calm her down.

"I'm glad you're all having fun," Alison grumbled, "but could somebody please help me with this?"

Finally, Sarah stepped forward.

"It's alright, Tin Miss, I have experience with dying my hair. When I was young, I used to dye my hair blond. You must have used far too much of the stuff. But that doesn't explain why you look like a porcupine. What is your hair made of anyway?"

"Organic carbon fiber," Alison replied. "It matches the way human hair looks and feels."

"That is probably the reason," Sarah said. "Human hair is made of keratin. Come, we're going to the master bathroom and I'll see what I can do. And you guys stop laughing already."

 **-0-**

John was already half asleep when he felt a warm, naked female body snuggling up to him under the bed sheets. He quickly identified Alison by the lack of band aids on her back.

"Is it safe for me to switch on the light or will I get the shock of my life?" he asked drowsily.

"I think it's safe," she replied and switched on the light herself.

"Wow," was all John could say.

"You like?"

"That's a definite yes," he said and considered her closely, "it's still you but… different."

Her hair was no longer orange, nor was it brown. It was reddish with orange streaks in it. Most importantly, though, it was smooth and soft again. And it smelled good as well. Cameron started kissing him softly and John returned the kiss.

"I should be mad at you," she stated between kisses.

"Because I laughed at you?" John asked after the next kiss.

"Uh-huh,"

 _Kiss._

"That…"

 _Kiss._

"… wasn't…"

 _Kiss._

"… very…"

 _Kiss._

"… nice of you."

"What you do now, **_is_** very nice, though" John said.

"Should we take advantage of having the bed to ourselves before Cameron returns?" she asked seductively.

"You know you don't ever have to ask, Alison," John answered and gently caressed her face.

"Neither do you, John," she said and let her hand glide down his body, finding the hardening shaft she desired to have in her so much. "You can take me whenever you want."

"I love you, Alison."

"I love you too, John."

She swung her leg over his body. He felt her hard nipples pressing against his chest while she French kissed him.

"My turn to be on top," she said lasciviously and inserted his dick into her swollen, wet pussy.

The moment it slid into her, a blissful sigh escaped her mouth. She reached for his hands and moved them to her breasts as she slowly started riding him with closed eyes.

 **-0-0-0-**


	7. Chola's Problem (revised)

**_CHAPTER 7: "CHOLA'S PROBLEM" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 – 05:35 a.m.**

 **Burbank**

It was already bright outside when John was stirring in his sleep. He felt a warm, naked body slipping under the blanket on his left while the right side of the bed was suddenly empty.

"Cam?" he asked half-asleep.

"Yes," she whispered back, "how did you know? I removed the band aid; the bullet wounds are almost completely healed."

John smiled.

"Your head smells different," he said and brushed through her hair.

"Oh," Cameron replied, "of course. Her new color."

She smiled and kissed him lovingly.

"So, you saw Alison?" he asked.

"Yes, we met in the hallway and had a quick talk. Her hair looks nice."

 _Another kiss._

"Were you successful in downloading and printing the blueprints of the Simdyne Tower?"

"Yes, but the connection was frequently interrupted, the city council's computer network sucks. The download lasted all night. Eric is already fast asleep next door."

 _... kiss..._

"So, you didn't have a chance to look at it yet?"

"I just skimmed it. I already told Alison that Eric and I will probably spend the morning with analyzing it all. We should be finished in time before you all return from your errands."

 _… kiss…_

"Where is she now?"

 _… kiss…_

"Alison? She said there was something she had to ask Jacobson."

 _… kiss…_

"What time is it anyway?"

"5:37 a.m. Don't worry, you can still sleep for a few hours."

 _… kiss..._

"Hmm… if you let me," John replied with a smile.

"I'll let you sleep," she said and snuggled up to him very tenderly. "But I'll stay with you, is that okay?"

"Of course, Cam, you know you don't need my permission for that."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

John smiled and drifted back to sleep.

 **-0-**

Breakfast time arrived, and everyone gathered at the kitchen table. When Cameron and Alison entered the room, both Sarah and Derek choked on their coffee. John turned around to see what was up and immediately burst into laughter. So did Lauren, and she gave the two cyborgs a thumb's up. Eric couldn't help but laugh out loudly as well.

Alison wore a white tee shirt, emblazoned with the slogan " ** _I love Death Metal"_** in black writing on it, with _"love"_ being symbolized by a red heart that was being split in half by a bolt of lightning. Cameron wore she same tee shirt but in black with white writing on it.

"I swear they're just doing that to annoy me," Derek muttered in an irritated tone.

"Let's be honest, Derek," John said chuckling, "you're making an easy target. Lighten up a bit. Isn't it great that they developed a sense of humor?"

"Humor?" Cameron asked and tilted her head a bit.

"What humor?" Alison added and did the same, her face as stoic and serious as her sister's.

Suddenly the laughter stopped. For a moment, there was an uncomfortable silence. Then Alison and Cameron smiled and pointed fingers at them.

"Fooled you," they said in perfect synchrony and sat down on the table.

"Don't overdo it, you two," Sarah said but couldn't suppress a smile. "We have traumatized people sitting at the table."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Derek replied grumbling. "Ha, ha, ha, keep making jokes on my account."

"Look at it this way, _uncle_ Derek," John said with an emphasis on 'uncle' and padded him on the shoulder, "as long as they make jokes on you and pull their pranks, they won't kill you."

"No, we won't kill you," Alison added and smiled, "that would only be a very brief satisfaction."

"This way we're having much more fun with you over a longer period of time," Cameron added.

Derek pointed his fork at John.

"You know the machines have won when you cannot tell anymore if they're serious or not," he said, then looked up at Cameron and Alison. "I believe you two do that on purpose. You realized you can work me up with stunts like that and do it just because you take perverse pleasure from it."

"Yes," Alison deadpanned and stuffed a piece of pancake into her mouth, "we do."

"The fun never stops," Sarah commented with a sigh, while John, Lauren and Eric kept on chuckling and Derek mumbled something about a 100-ton hydraulic press he'd like to have at his disposition right now.

John looked at Alison.

"Cam said you were with Jacobson this morning to ask him something," he asked.

"Yes," she replied, "there's something I wanted to know from him after our visit to James Ellison."

"Care to share your knowledge with us, Tin Miss?" Sarah asked.

"I was about to," Alison answered. "It has to do with the cyber-attack on John Henry. Jacobson confirmed that it was indeed the pre-Skynet A.I. that did it."

"Hadn't we already assumed that?" Derek asked.

"We had," Alison confirmed. "And now we know. However, what we didn't know, is that the pre-Skynet A.I. did it on its own initiative, without having received any instruction or authorization to do so."

"Great," Derek said sarcastically. "It's already starting to disregard and ignore its human programmers. That's bad news."

"On the contrary," Alison argued, "it might have bought us the time we need to prepare for the attack."

"How so?" John asked with a frown.

"Jacobson told me that his team of programmers panicked afterwards. They cut all outside connections and attempted to shut down the A.I."

"And did they?"

"They were able to isolate the A.I., yes. But they weren't able to shut it down. Pre-Skynet fought back and killed the whole team of programmers."

"What?" Sarah asked. "How?"

"It locked them in the bunker and sucked out all the air. They suffocated."

"So, it already has become conscious or self-aware and kills to defend itself," Derek said. "This isn't getting any better. How can that be an advantage for us?"

"Please hear me out, I'm getting to it," Alison replied. "Jacobson didn't inform his business partners of the incident. It's obvious that the pre-Skynet A.I. is further ahead of its development than Kaliba or the Air Force know. If they should find out and realize the danger it represents, they might pull the plug on the project."

"So, Jacobsen got cold feet," John concluded, "and hid the machine's solo move from them."

"Correct," Alison said, "with the help of George McCarthy he got rid of the dead bodies and swept the incident under the rug. The two of them staged some kind of traffic accident to explain the deaths. The project was so secret that hardly anyone at Simdyne knew the men anyway."

"Who's George McCarthy?" Lauren asked.

"An employee of Kaliba," John replied, "one of their killers, to be precise. He lived with his family in Charm Acres, a neighborhood for engineers that worked in a Kaliba research lab. When the lab was blown up and all employees killed, he wasn't there. He was one of only two survivors but is also considered deceased. His wife and daughter know he's still alive, but they remain silent about it. They received a lot of money from the insurance for his death."

"I see," Lauren said.

"So, the programmers are all dead and Skynet is far ahead of its schedule," Derek asked. "How can that be an advantage for us?"

"Because Jacobson locked the bunker," Alison stated. "There's nobody in there now and he's the only one who can open it again."

There was a moment of stunned silence.

"So..." John said slowly, "since Jacobson is our prisoner and nobody knows where he is, nobody can access the pre-Skynet A.I., which is now trapped in the bunker, cut off from any outside connection."

"Yes," Alison confirmed. "The Air Force still has a remote connection via a standalone work station on one of their airbases, but it's only one-way. They can see pre-Skynet is active but won't get any data from it and can't give it any commands."

"So, currently there's no chance for Skynet to reach out into the world and spread to other computers," Derek summarized, "is that what you wanna say?"

"Yes."

"But you said that it already has access to other computers," Sarah reminded. "And it was able to attack John Henry. Couldn't it, you know… have dumped some parts of itself somewhere else already?"

"No," Alison replied, "as I already said, the A.I. is still dependent on its mainframe, it was able to reach out but unable to transfer itself anywhere. It's currently trapped and isolated in its bunker. Nobody has access to the installation. The entrance door to the bunker is impenetrable and there is no other way in. After all, it was built to withstand a nuclear blast."

Everyone took a deep breath.

"If I understand you correctly," Sarah said, "this means that as long as Jacobson is our prisoner, Skynet is a prisoner in the bunker as well?"

"That is correct," Alison confirmed. "But it won't last forever. Kaliba and the Air Force will have their software experts working on the problem already. Eventually they might find a back door. Then there is the emergency protocol..."

"Emergency protocol?" Lauren asked.

"Yes, it stipulates that in a case like this, the Skynet software must be transferred to a secure backup location on an airbase in Nevada. Fortunately for us, however, that backup system is still being installed. It won't be ready for about four weeks. We should be able to destroy it in that time frame."

"We better should," John replied, "because if Skynet would be transferred out of Los Angeles, we wouldn't have a chance to destroy it anymore."

"We shouldn't wait four weeks with our attack," Sarah said. "But we now have time to work out a detailed plan. You're right, Tin Miss, that's a huge advantage for us. Good thinking on your part to ask Jacobson about that."

"Thank you."

"So… I assume that pre-Skynet also flew the drone into Weaver's office?" John asked.

"It would seem so," Alison said. "Apparently, there was a remote connection between pre-Skynet and the drone that couldn't be severed in time. The A.I. lashed out at who it considered its greatest enemy, Zeira Corp. The last gasp, if you want, before it became trapped in the bunker. At least for the next few weeks, pre-Skynet is doomed to inactivity."

There was a general feeling of relief and the mood in the kitchen improved visibly.

"Yesterday, after our visit to James Ellison, it all looked rather gloomy," Sarah stated, "but now we not only have enough time, but also a realistic chance to destroy Skynet once and for all. Jacobsen himself did us the favor. And since the whole programming team is dead, there's no one down there to stop us. Am I Right?"

"Except for the security guards, which are Triple-Eights, and the automatic security systems," Alison remarked. "but yes, the whole 5th sub level is currently abandoned."

"We'll find a way past the security systems, I'm sure of that" John said. "Don't forget, we have Jacobsen. He can grant us access. I suggest we'll have another briefing later, after we went for our errands, and after Cameron and Eric were able to study the blueprints."

"So, you're still going to buy beds and stuff?" Eric asked.

"John and Derek will," Sarah replied. "Alison, Lauren and I need to pay Chola a visit. She took over Carlos' business and owes us for killing his murderers. We'll need papers for Alison Baum, John's other older sister, and Lauren and Sydney."

"This brother and sister routine is getting old," John complained, "it'll be hard to keep it up from now on."

"Especially since we now share a room and a bed," Cameron added.

"Your problem, not mine," Sarah stated. "We also need a solid cover story because sooner or later our neighbor Kacy will find out that there are now two of you. Don't forget that her fiancé, Trevor, is with the LAPD."

"Cameron and I already came up with a cover story," Alison said.

"Oh?" Sarah asked and leaned back. "Let's hear it."

"I'm Cameron's twin sister. I'm back from a private boarding school in Europe. You know, the one with the uniforms that make you look like a flower sock."

Sarah had to smile because she remembered her scene with Cameron nine months ago at Carlos' house.

"Okay," she said, "let's assume for a moment we go with that. Why didn't we ever mention you before?"

"Because the topic never came up," Cameron answered, "You almost only talk about John when you're with others. We are your problem children, you don't like talking about us as much."

"Isn't that actually the truth?" Derek asked grinning while chewing on Sarah's slightly charred scrambled eggs.

"Derek has a point there, mom," John agreed. "You tend to only talk about _me_ with others, never about Cameron. Remember that awkward first appointment with Dr. Sherman? You completely ignored her, and he noticed right away."

Sarah didn't reply.

"Okay," John continued. "Alison was sent away to a boarding school for some time. She… got into trouble with drugs. You didn't wanna talk about it but now things have gotten better, and she has returned."

"Drugs won't work on me, though," Alison said.

"Doesn't matter, it's just a cover story."

"Do I have a criminal record?"

"No," John said annoyed. "And if anyone asks, just be evasive and say you don't like to talk about it. It worked with your friend Jody, didn't it?"

"I had a real memory loss," Alison argued, "and Jody only pretended to be my friend. She lied to me. I don't like it when people lie to me."

"Yes, and you almost killed her in return. I'd say you're even."

"But I..."

"STOP!" Sarah yelled, and the bickering stopped. "Thank you."

She looked around the table.

"Do you think Kacy will actually buy that story?" she asked.

"Why not?" John asked back and shrugged. "They look identical, so there's no better explanation."

"I don't know," Sarah said doubtfully.

"Why not?" Eric asked. "Do you think somebody might assume that they're in fact two identical cyborgs from the future who ended up here by traveling back in time?"

"Thanks for making my point, Eric," John replied and grinned at him, then looked at his mother. "We should also consider their significant progress in human interaction. They don't freak out people so easily anymore."

"James Ellison would beg to differ," Sarah said.

"But he knows what she really is," John argued, "Kacy doesn't. We mustn't forget how alien and unimaginable the reality of our situation is for an outsider."

"That's true," Eric confirmed. "I was almost ready to call 911, because I seriously thought Cameron was crazy when she told me she was a cyborg, even after she did that flashy thing with her eyes. Only when I saw her metal skull underneath and witnessed her throwing those guys around the room, I believed her."

"Yes," Lauren agreed. "Every explanation is more likely than the truth."

"Alright, twins they are, and I will take it on me to explain this to Kacy," Sarah said, "but what about you, Lauren? How do you fit into the picture?"

"She's Derek's daughter," Cameron suggested and for the second time Derek choked on his coffee this morning.

"What?" he croaked.

"Think about it," Cameron continued, "You know Lauren from the future, you have a connection with her and her sister, Sydney. So, the best cover story for you is to be their father. The mother is an alcoholic and currently in a detoxification center. That's why Lauren and her baby sister came here to live with you for the time being."

"O-kay, no more soap operas on TV for you," Derek said dryly, "your fantasy's going crazy."

"It makes sense, though," Lauren stated, "it's a convincing cover story."

"You mean it's so far-fetched that everyone will believe it?" Derek asked.

"Exactly… dad," Lauren answered with a big grin and Derek flinched.

"And about you, Eric…" Sarah begun.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Eric said, holding up his hands in protest. "I already have a family, I have my parents and a little sister. I even have a regular job, I don't need to have a cover story."

"I was about to say," Sarah continued with a smile, "that you are a friend of the family, nothing more, and you stay with us for a couple of days because your apartment is being renovated. That okay for you?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Eric replied relieved.

"Fine," Sarah said. "Attack is the best form of defense. Before we go visiting Chola, I walk down to Kacy's house and invite her to a barbecue on Sunday. And I will casually inform her about our current guests. The whole thing is so unbelievable that she will probably buy it without questioning."

With breakfast coming to a close, Sarah rose from the table.

"While we go on our errands, Cameron will stay home with Eric and take care of the prisoner and the baby while they analyze the blueprints. Any questions?"

There were none.

"Looks like we two will be going shopping for furniture," Derek said and winked at John. "Are you up to it?"

"Are you kidding me?" John asked back. "I'm looking forward to it. Will be a lot less complicated, less stressful and much more fun than with the women."

"You're right about that," Derek agreed grinning, "let's have a men's shopping tour."

Sarah frowned upon that remark but said nothing.

"Alright, if everyone knows what to do, I'm gonna go over to Kacy's now," she said.

The family rose from the breakfast table and while Sarah walked downhill to their neighbor's house, the rest of them cleaned up the kitchen and prepared for their businesses. Alison holstered her Glock, Lauren did the same with her Smith & Wesson M&P. Since Chola's house was located inside gang territory, it was a necessary safety precaution. While they were gearing up, Sarah's loud voice could suddenly be heard from outside.

"They'll certainly be glad to meet you too, Kacy!"

Hastily they covered up their weapons, ammunition and weapons cleaning equipment, and not a second too late because Sarah entered the living room through the terrace door, followed by Kacy.

"I'm sorry to bother you this early in the morning," the woman said upon entering the house, "but I wanted to see you with my own eyes, so… oh my God."

Kacy gasped, seeing Cameron and Alison standing next to each other.

"Wow! You two look absolutely identical! Hi, I'm Kacy, you must be Alison, your mom told me about the hair."

The two shook hands.

"Nice to meet you, Kacy," Alison smiled warmly at their neighbor.

"And this here," Sarah said, steering Kacy away from the cyborgs, "is Lauren, and the baby is Sydney. And you already know their father, Derek, John's uncle."

"Yes, of course, I didn't know he had children, though. Aww, the baby is so cute."

"Derek is very tight-lipped," John explained, "he's been through a lot during the war in, uh… Iraq."

"Yes, I remember you telling me," Kacy said sympathetically, "your family has been through hard times."

"And this is Eric," Sarah continued and introduced him to Kacy as well, "friend of the family. Staying with us as long as his apartment is being renovated."

"Yes, you mentioned," Kacy replied and shook Eric's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Has mom told you we're having a barbecue on Sunday?" John asked. "You're welcome to join us."

"Yes, she told me. I must ask Trevor first, but he's got a free weekend, so I'm sure he'll attend. I'm looking forward to it. It's about time we socialize. You've been living here for seven months and the only one I spent some time with, is Sarah. We barely know each other, that has to change."

"We're looking forward to it," Derek said.

"Me too," Kacy replied happily. "I see that you're all about to leave, I don't wanna hold you up. See you all later."

And with that, she left the house again.

"That was much easier than expected," John stated with relief.

 **-0-**

Before they left, Sarah and Derek checked on the prisoner. They had decided it was best to keep him sedated all the time, so he couldn't shout with the risk of somebody hearing him.

"Sooner or later we'll have to decide what to do with him," Sarah said on their way back into the house.

"You know what we have to do with him," Derek stated.

Sarah shot Derek an angry look.

"We're not going to kill him!" she declared rigorously.

"Sarah, be realistic. We need him until we destroyed Skynet. But after that, he is of no use for us anymore. On the contrary. He knows where we live, he knows everything about us. He has powerful partners. We can't let him live. Besides, if _we_ don't kill him, one of the girls surely will, in order to protect John. So, don't get squeamish about this."

She gave him a strange look.

"What is it?" he asked. "Don't tell me you feel sorry for that fat bastard or that you think there's something good in him somewhere?"

"No, that's not it," Sarah replied, "you said _'one of the girls'_ will kill him, not _'one of the metal'_ will kill him. It's the first time you referred to Cameron and Alison as _'the girls'_ , the first time you're not being derogative about them."

"Yeah well," Derek said under his breath, "Can happen to anyone. Nobody's perfect."

Sarah only smiled in return.

 **-0-**

While John and Derek took the Dodge RAM pickup truck for their trip to IKEA, Sarah, Lauren and Alison chose the Chevrolet Suburban for their drive to Chola's house. It was located in South Central L.A., roughly seventeen miles from their house in Burbank, and it wasn't exactly the safest area in Los Angeles County. That's why the three of them were armed.

Lauren had learned how to handle a gun in the sixth months she and her family had been on the run from the Triple-Eight, and despite her still being a teenager, she also had become a rather tough cookie when it mattered.

"Who's this Chola character anyway and what's your connection to her?" Lauren asked.

"She was the girlfriend of Carlos," Alison said, "Carlos provided us with our current ID's. He was killed by people who were after us. Chola was the only survivor because she wasn't home at the time. We helped her avenge Carlos' death, kill his murderers, and now she's taken over his business."

"Sounds like a tough girl," Lauren commented.

"Yes," Alison agreed, "tough girl. But very quiet."

Sarah chuckled.

"When they first met, Cameron and Chola got into a contest about who's cooler."

"Really?" Lauren asked. "Who won?"

"We were interrupted by a police officer," Alison said, "it was a draw."

"And I had to interfere before Tin Miss could kill the police officer," Sarah recollected and smiled.

"He was about to call in the license plate of our stolen car," Alison explained. "In that moment he became a threat. I don't like threats."

"It's what police officers do," Sarah said, "You cannot simply kill someone who's doing their job, even if it's inconvenient for us."

"I learned since then." Alison replied and looked at Lauren. "I now know it's not always necessary to kill someone to solve a problem."

Lauren laughed. Sarah and Alison looked at her in puzzlement

"Sorry but listening to this kind of conversation is so hilarious," she explained. "The killer cyborg and her _'mom'_ , teaching her to not kill everything in her way."

Sarah gave her a knowing smile.

"You haven't seen her in action yet, honey. Once you did, you might not be laughing anymore."

"But you only kill the bad guys, right?" Lauren asked and looked at Alison.

"Yes," she replied, "only the bad guys."

Sarah rolled her eyes.

* * *

After an hour of driving, they reached Chola's neighborhood and all checked their guns again at a red light.

"Remember, it's gang territory," Sarah explained. "Keep your eyes and ears open and try to behave inconspicuously."

"I already know the routine," Lauren stated. "And I practiced shooting a lot in the past half year."

"Don't get me wrong now," Sarah replied. "But I won't make my final judgement about your abilities until I've seen you perform in a dicey situation."

"I can check on your skills on a shooting range later," Alison said. "Would you like that?"

"Sure, who wouldn't wanna have a bad-ass killer cyborg as their instructor?" Lauren asked smiling.

Alison smiled back, apparently treasuring the compliment.

"We're here," Sarah said and turned into the driveway of former Carlos', now Chola's house. "Hasn't changed much."

"No guards," Alison commented, "it looks deserted."

"Sarkissian had them all killed, remember?" Sarah replied.

They parked the car in the driveway behind Chola's 1963 Chevrolet Impala Sports Coupé and – always carefully checking the perimeter – climbed the stairs to the front porch. Sarah knocked on the door. For a moment nothing happened, then the door opened slightly.

"Chola?" Sarah asked, recognizing her face in the opening. "Can we have a talk? I know I should have called first but it's an urgent matter."

The chain was unlocked, and the door opened completely. Sarah, Lauren and Alison stepped into the house. It was dark inside because all the blinds were closed, and the lights switched off. The air condition ran on full power. Due to the difference in brightness from the blazing sun outside, Sarah's and Lauren's eyes needed a moment to adjust.

As soon as all three were inside, the door was closed behind them and before Sarah or Alison could react, they heard the unmistakable clicking of guns being cocked. Sarah realized too late that a man had waited right behind the door and was now standing next to her, pointing a gun at her head.

"You better don't move, puta," a sinister voice with a Spanish accent said next to her.

The three women put their hands up. Once her eyes had gotten used to the dimmed lighting, Sarah saw that three men with guns were inside the house. One was pointing a pistol against her head, the second one stood by the stairs and held an old-fashioned, double-barreled shotgun in the direction of Lauren and Alison. The third one sat in Carlos' old armchair in the opposite corner of the room, resting a Desert Eagle on his lap.

The man holding the shotgun was about 6' 10'' and very muscular. The other two were considerably shorter. The one with the Desert Eagle on his lap wore glasses and was apparently the leader of the three, the one next to Sarah was bald and had tattoos all over his arms and face. All three were Latinos. Chola stepped back into the middle of the room until the guy in the armchair pointed his Desert Eagle at her.

"That's far enough," he said leisurely.

"Sorry, didn't know you had visitors," Sarah commented sarcastically and looked at Chola who looked back with an unreadable face.

She noticed that at her side, Alison was ready to burst into action at any given moment. Sarah ever so slightly shook her head. Now wasn't the right moment to attack, with guns being pointed at them. Even the fastest Terminator couldn't prevent that they were shot at.

Sarah and the two girls were thoroughly searched, which seemed to give the bald, tattooed guy a lot of pleasure as he deliberately spent more time than necessary to feel up each woman's breasts and bottom. He quickly found their guns and showed them to the tall guy.

"No policia," tattooed guy said to the man with glasses. "What are we going to do with them, Javier?"

"Tie them up," Javier responded from his armchair, "we'll deal with them later. Leave the redhead untied, though. I like her military outfit, makes her look cute and sexy. I like cute and sexy."

It was obvious that he had set his eyes on Alison, who was in full infiltration mode and made the perfect impression of a vulnerable, frightened girl on the verge of tears. Sarah was impressed by Alison's performance and understood the plan, so she let herself being tied up, knowing that it wouldn't be for long. She was then unceremoniously thrown onto the couch, with Lauren and Chola following suit. Lauren's face was one of genuine fear. Sarah tried to give her a comforting look, but it didn't help much.

With the three women helpless and out of the way, the tattooed man and the one wearing glasses lowered their guns and grinned at Alison. Javier stood up and pointed his Desert Eagle at her, stepping closer.

"Take of your clothes," he ordered.

Alison started sobbing and took off her jacket, then put her hands on the hem of her tee shirt. From the sofa the other three women watched with various expressions. Chola was cool and seemingly unaffected as always, Lauren was showing genuine fear and Sarah just smiled, almost feeling sorry for the men. When Alison had lifted the tee shirt over her head and revealed her bra, the men started grinning and looked transfixed at her cleavage.

"Small but shapely, as I like it," Javier said with a lewd expression, "I think I'm gonna enjoy you."

His hand moved to her belt and tried to open it. That was the moment Alison acted. What happened next, was so fast that the women on the sofa had trouble following it.

Alison grabbed the Desert Eagle from Javier's hand, crushed it and broke his neck with one swift move. The other two guys needed a second to process what had just happened, that the whiny, helpless looking girl had suddenly killed their leader in a fraction of a second. Their moment of shock was more time than Alison needed.

Within a fraction of a second and with the grace of a ballet dancer, she whirled around and kicked the tall guy's shotgun out of his hands while at the same time grabbing tattooed guy's head, snapping his neck in one swift motion. He, too, sank dead to the floor.

Before the tall guy was able to go after his shotgun, Alison kicked him hard into the balls. The man cried out in pain and sank to his knees. Meanwhile, Alison had picked the shotgun up from the floor. She looked into the kneeling man's surprised face, tilted her head, then put the shotgun around his neck, bending it into a tight metal loop. It looked as easy as flexing a garden hose. Only the squeaking noise of the two steel barrels revealed that it was metal and not rubber. With an ugly crunch, the man's larynx was crushed. The life vanished from his eyes and he fell to the ground, dead. Not a single shot had been fired and no blood was shed.

"Madre de Dios," Chola said shocked and stared at Alison with wide open eyes.

The cyborg girl started to untie the three women.

"You alright?" she asked, and Sarah and Lauren nodded.

 _"So, this is watching her in action,"_ Lauren thought and couldn't help but shiver.

"That took you longer than I expected, Tin Miss" Sarah remarked critically and rubbed her wrists. "But nice handiwork. You're getting more creative."

"I needed to make sure none of you were in danger of ricochet," Alison stated calmly and untied Chola. "And I also wanted to avoid raising attention by gunshots."

The Latina quickly jumped up and knelt next to the tall guy, touching the bent gun barrel around his neck, as if to make sure it was real and not a fake. Then she crossed herself, looked up at Alison, all the coolness vanished from her face.

"What are you?" she asked breathlessly and looked up at Alison.

The cyborg girl let her eyes glow blue in response, and a triumphant grin crawled onto her face as she watched Chola finally lose her coolness. The Latino woman gasped in shock and scuttled backwards with a frightful expression. Sarah saw Alison's smug face, rolled her eyes in disapproval and knelt next to Chola.

"She likes to show off," she said, "but don't you worry, she won't harm you. I'm sure you must have noticed before that she was no ordinary girl."

"I always suspected she was badass," Chola stated with a shaking voice, "But this... what is she? A demon?"

"No, I'm not a demon." Alison replied and stretched out her hand to help Chola up again, obviously enjoying the triumph of having finally impressed her. "But wouldn't it be cool if I was one?"

Hesitating a moment, Chola reached out for Alison's hand and was pulled up with ease.

"She's a badass cyborg!" Lauren exclaimed enthusiastically, apparently being on an adrenaline high.

"LAUREN!" Sarah warned sharply.

"What?" the girl asked and shrugged. "Chola has seen her in action and knows she can't be human. This won't be going away, except you wanna kill her now as well. So, we better let her in."

"We're not going to kill her," Sarah said and looked Chola directly in her face, "you are safe, do you hear? Alison will not harm you. Right, Alison?"

"Yes," the cyborg girl confirmed, "she's not a threat, I don't need to kill her as long as she doesn't talk to others about us."

Those weren't exactly the right words to calm down Chola, but she nodded, nevertheless.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"We need papers for Alison, little Miss Boaster here, and a birth certificate for a six-months-old baby," Sarah explained. "Driver's licenses and passports would be ideal."

"Alison?" Chola asked, "wasn't her name Cameron last time?"

"Yeah, that's the other one," Lauren said proudly, "we have two of them. Two badass cyborg girls, ain't that cool?"

Sarah closed her eyes in frustration and groaned, trying to keep her composure.

"Who were these men anyway?" she asked, looking down on the three dead bodies.

"Javier was one of the leaders of a rivaling gang," Chola explained. "It has been tough ever since Carlos died. Thankfully, I could convince everyone that I could take over his business and earned myself the respect of the gang and a good reputation in the area. Javier here heard of it and thought he could force me into working for him as well. They've been threatening and harassing me for weeks."

"Couldn't it start a gang war by breaking into here and threaten you with guns?"

"No, it was a calculated risk from their side. Besides, I'm a freelancer, I don't exclusively work for Carlos' gang, as you know very well. They wouldn't start a war over an unimportant forger chick like me. Javier, on the other hand, was high profile. You might have saved me from him but I'm afraid his death will demand a retribution from his gang now."

"Only if the bodies are found and can be traced back to you," Sarah said. "There was no gunshot, so we didn't catch anyone's attention. Did someone see them entering your house?"

"I don't think so. My house is located directly at the border to their territory, they could have simply entered through the gardens. But I suppose they have someone waiting in a car nearby, right behind the border to their territory. If the three are being reported missing, Javier's gang will know where to look first."

"I understand," Sarah said, "how would we be able to recognize that driver?"

"They all carry the same tattoo on their left forearm. When you think you found him, just ask him if he's waiting for Javier."

Alison walked over to the dead tall guy and lifted his arm up.

"That tattoo, is it the knife symbol with the number 35 on it?" she asked.

Chola nodded.

"See that you find that driver," Sarah said.

"On my way," Alison replied and was about to leave the house through the back door.

"Don't forget to put your clothes back on again," Sarah remarked with a smirk.

Alison stopped dead in her tracks and turned around.

"Right," she said and walked back, putting on her tee shirt and jacket again.

"Make sure nobody sees you."

Alison left the house through the back door and walked into the garden. Sarah sighed.

"Sometimes I don't know if she's doing that on purpose to provoke me or if she really is that careless with nudity," she said.

"So, she… isn't human?" Chola asked.

"No, and neither is Cameron," Sarah replied. "I'm not telling you the whole story because the less you know, the better for you."

"But she seems so real."

"Living tissue over a metal endoskeleton," Sarah said. "Javier and the other two guys could have shot their guns empty at her and she would have shrugged it off."

"She protects you?"

"Yes, they do."

"Can you spare one?"

Sarah chuckled.

"No, I'm afraid not. Come on, let's start cleaning up the mess?"

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, the back door burst open and in flew a small man, landing hard on the floor, moaning in pain. He tried to get up with an obviously broken left wrist. His head was bleeding as well.

"He was the only guy inside a car with a running engine in the vicinity," Alison explained. "He didn't want to show me his forearm and didn't want to come voluntarily. So, I had to become more convincing after he tried to threaten me with this."

Alison handed a revolver over to Sarah.

"I'm surprised he's still alive," Sarah commented, looking at the writhing man on the floor.

"I figured that maybe we should interrogate him before we kill him," Alison explained.

The man saw the corpses of his three friends, lying spread out on the floor on plastic sheets, and gasped. Then he saw the bent shotgun around Javier's neck and started panicking.

"Oh dios mio!" he exclaimed. "Por favor, let me go. I won't talk. Please, spare my life."

"Don't beg _us_ ," Sarah said with a smirk, "we're just guests here. It's up to Chola to decide what she does with you."

"I'm not a killer," Chola stated. "And I know that man. He's a subordinate gang member. He has a daily job and a family. I doubt he's working for them voluntarily."

"Alison," Sarah said, "would you be so kind to convince him that he better stands true to his word and doesn't tell anyone what he's seen here today?"

"With pleasure, Sarah," Alison replied and reached down for the man.

She grabbed him by his throat and pulled him up with one arm, his feet dangling in the air. He choked and tried to loosen her grip with his hands, clawing at her arm, but it was a futile attempt. Alison let her eyes glow red this time and took the revolver back from Sarah.

"When you get out of here," she said and used a deep, demonic voice like from a bad horror movie, "you will not say a word to anyone. Or I will come after you and kill first your family in front of your eyes, and then you."

"Oh dios mio, oh dios mio!" was all the man was able to stammer while a wet stain formed in his lap.

To emphasize her words, Alison held the revolver in front of his face and pressed her fingers together, squeezing and bending the gun as if it was made of plasticine.

"Did you understand what I said?" she asked menacingly.

The man nodded his head vigorously with wide-open eyes, at least as much as he was able to with his neck still being in Alison's iron grip.

"Si," he croaked, "I understand. Not a word. To no one. I swear!"

"Get that filth out of here," Sarah said and Alison threw him out of the back door, where the man hastily got on his feet and scurried away with a limp.

"Nice performance," Sarah commented, "but don't you ever let me catch you using that demon routine with Derek late at night, is that clear?"

Alison pouted. Apparently, that was exactly what she had planned to do.

"I really wish you hadn't asked if she was a demon," Sarah said to Chola with a sigh, "I'm afraid it has given her a new idea and it'll take some effort to convince her not to use it as a prank on my brother-in-law."

"It was an effective strategy," Alison declared and shrugged. "You can't intimidate these guys with worldly threats, so I tried something supernatural."

"We better don't show her any horror movies," Lauren remarked.

* * *

Chola called a few members of her gang on the phone who she said would make the bodies disappear. When they arrived, they were also shocked about the way Javier and his men had died. However, they were smart enough not to ask many questions. Sarah then handed over pictures of Lauren and Alison for issuing the papers.

"So, how much for everything?" Sarah asked.

"Nothing. Service of the house for helping me out," Chola said, "But I have one condition."

"What condition?" Sarah asked warily.

"That I can contact you if trouble ever returns here, and that you will come and bring the girls if necessary. I mean Cameron and Alison."

Sarah looked at Alison, who shrugged and nodded.

"Alright, she said," write down this number. "It's a prepaid cellphone, you can leave a message on the mailbox, but we won't be calling you back."

"Thank you," Chola replied. "The documents will be ready in two days.

"Friday then," Sarah confirmed. "I'll send one of the girls to fetch them."

 **-0-**

John and Derek were already home again when Sarah, Lauren and Alison returned.

"Why are you back so soon?" Sarah asked astonished. "We've only been gone for three hours."

"Easy," Derek replied with a lollipop in his mouth, "no women."

"Very funny," Sarah said with a disdainful look.

"No, mom, really," John assured, "in and out in under two hours. No arguing, no stopping and looking at things we don't need, no losing ourselves in the odds and ends before the furniture warehouse. We even had time for a snack and buying some Swedish chocolate."

Sarah squinted at them warily.

"What did you buy?" she asked with her arms crossed, still not quite believing the men had been so quick with buying furniture.

"We bought a resilient, king-sized bed for the girls and me, with mattress and pillows and sheets and everything. Also, a queen-sized bed, a wardrobe and a couple of dressers for the spare room Derek is going to get. We also stopped at an electronics store on the way back, buying flat screen TV's for Lauren and Derek, and also some wall paint at Home Depot. We'll let you do all the fine tuning and decorating, though, so you don't feel useless."

"Hmmm," is all Sarah replied, not liking John's smugness at all. "Well, don't expect me to help you with the furniture. You bought it, now see that you get it assembled."

John rolled his eyes.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, and with the help of Cameron and Alison, all the packages were unloaded and sorted into the appropriate rooms. It was decided that Lauren and Sydney would get the infirmary from John, since it was next to a bathroom with a bath tub. Derek would move into the second spare room after it had been cleaned and renovated.

There was a bit of an argument about whether Sarah should give up the master bedroom on the ground floor with the associated bathroom but in the end, everyone agreed that there was a greater need for space and privacy for John and the girls than for a single woman alone.

Sarah reluctantly moved into Cameron's old room. That way, Lauren and she would have to share the same bathroom, but both were okay with it. Derek would now use the guest bathroom on the upper floor where Riley had cut her wrists open. The door lock would have to be repaired first, though. All of Sarah's stuff, including her bed and furniture, was moved upstairs while John's, Cameron's and Alison's stuff was carried downstairs. Thanks to having two cyborgs, all that went very quickly and smoothly.

With everything and everyone re-arranged, they started to put the furniture together. Derek and Lauren had trouble putting the wardrobe for his room together and he voiced the assumption that the construction manual was nothing more than the visions of a drug-addicted Swedish graphic designer. But in the end, with a lot of swearing and some minor blood loss, they were successful.

John and his two girlfriends had a lot less trouble with putting their new, king-size bed together in the master bedroom downstairs. Somehow, the cyborg girls had a knack for putting stuff together in the correct way and did it almost without needing the manual. The frame of the bed and the mattress were specifically designed for very heavy people, so it was ideally suited for two 180-pound cyborgs and a 150-pound teenage boy.

Then it was lunch time and as it turned out, Lauren was quite the chef. She had prepared Lasagna for all, and it was a nice change from the usual Mac and Cheese, Spaghetti with tomato sauce or burnt meat loaf.

"So, what did you find out about the Simdyne building?" Sarah asked as everyone sat down to eat. "Could you study the blueprints?"

"Yes," Cameron replied. "The building itself is not so much of a problem. Getting in there should be easy. The problem is the underground floor where the bunker with the pre-Skynet hardware is located. It's separated from the rest of the building and is only accessible by an elevator. The stairwells have been filled with concrete, it has its own power and water supply as well as air filters. It can function independently for more than a month. The good news, however, is that we should have no problem severing the power and data connections for the whole building. They're fairly easily accessible – when you know where they are."

"The Simdyne building itself is a 35-story office tower, built in the 1980's," Eric added. "The bunker was originally designed as a public shelter in case of a nuclear attack. As we already know, it's located on the fifth sub level. That's almost sixty feet under street level. The entrance to the bunker is a 20-ton blast door. There are, however, no plans of the bunker layout itself. It was classified at the time and our guess is that the plans are either lost or lay forgotten in some cabinet somewhere in the city archives. There was a catalog entry for them, which means they must have been digitalized at some point, but the files were deleted years ago, probably at the behest of Jacobsen or Kaliba. There's no way of restoring them now."

"Well, I'm sure Jacobson knows his way around down there," Sarah said.

"I'm sure he'll cooperate with us when the time has come," Alison agreed.

"Bringing him with us could pose a potential security risk, though," Cameron argued.

"We'll sedate him and carry him with us," Sarah said. "He's going nowhere. And if he still has hope of survival, he might even help us voluntarily."

"But we're going to kill him afterwards, right?" Alison asked a little too eagerly.

Sarah frowned.

"This will be a very risky and extremely dangerous operation," she pointed out, "we might need him alive as the ace up our sleeve, in case something unexpected happens."

"I think mom's right," John said, "he's worth more to us alive until the operation is over successfully."

"The best time for the operation will be around 2 a.m.," Alison stated. "As I already mentioned, I was able to watch the building for a couple of nights before I traveled back in time. Nobody there is working that late, and there'll be hardly any traffic."

"Where exactly is the building connected to the outside world?" Derek asked.

"There are two cable shafts for electricity, telephone lines, cable TV and internet on the first sub level," Cameron replied. "There's also an array of satellite dishes on the roof. Since we don't know if any of those are connected to the pre-Skynet A.I., it will be necessary to take them all out. Somebody has to get onto the roof and do it. That means we have to split into teams to cut the connections and destroy the satellite dishes at the same time. Otherwise the A.I. might raise an alarm and we'd be getting company very soon."

"We need to rob it of the ability to communicate with the Air Force," Sarah said, nodding in understanding. "Since it is already locked up in the bunker, it can't go anywhere or alarm anyone, even if it detects the intrusion. Sounds good so far. "

"How can we be sure that after Jacobsen's disappearance the Air Force won't occupy the building?" Eric asked.

"That's unlikely," Alison replied. "Keep in mind that officially, the Air Force isn't involved at all. It's a black project that Washington doesn't know about. Kaliba will also do nothing to reveal their connections with Simdyne Cybernetics. Everyone will avoid attracting attention, desperately hoping for Jacobsen to show up again. They're probably quite distressed by now and it won't get better anytime soon."

"At least not until the backup system is completed in Nevada," John said. "My guess is they're gonna do everything they can now to finish it as soon as possible. We shouldn't wait longer than, say… two weeks before we start our assault."

"Can we access the cable shafts from the outside or do we have to enter the building for that?" Derek asked.

"There's access via the city sewers," Cameron replied. "C4 with a timer should do the job. But it's important to really cut all connections at the same moment, including the satellite dish array on the roof. Otherwise Skynet might be able to send out an alert."

"Yes, I guess we all understood that," Derek said. "And I think each one of us is aware of the fact that it's important to _'kill'_ the pre-Skynet A.I. in a way it can't be restored anymore."

"After the power connections are cut," Alison continued, "the building will switch over to battery buffers. Seconds later, two diesel generators will start. We need to take those out as well. Without the generators, the building is virtually dead but the computer center inside the bunker still has its own generator and will be under power nevertheless."

"First, we need to get rid of the Triple-Eight security guards, though," Alison said. "Nothing will be accomplished with them still being around. Once they are out of the way, things will get a lot easier."

"That's the part where Catherine Weaver would be a massive help," John explained, "If she really is a T-1000, she should be able to destroy the Triple-Eights quickly and quietly. We need to prevent any shoot-outs to not draw the attention of any passers-by to the building – at least in the lobby and on the surface floors. What awaits us down below, is still an unknown. Skynet might have arranged for security measures even Jacobsen knows nothing about."

"Awesome," Sarah said, "So even the best preparation leaves room for a lot of unpleasant surprises."

"Has anyone considered hacking into the security systems beforehand?" Lauren asked.

"No!" John quickly replied, "we mustn't do that."

"Why not?"

"Skynet might not have contact to the outside world anymore but it's safe to assume that it has the control over the building," Cameron explained. "It would notice any attempt of an intrusion and raise the alarm."

"If I understood it right, the only way down is the elevator shaft?" Derek asked.

"Yes. But it is secured with an array of high-powered laser barriers," Alison said. "powerful enough to kill a human. They can only be deactivated from down below."

"How long do you need to get down there?" John asked Cameron and Alison.

"If we jump, two seconds," Cameron replied.

"Can you do that?"

"Yes," Alison said, "we can safely land a jump from that height without taking any damage."

"That's so cool," Lauren remarked and both cyborgs smiled at her.

"So, once the laser barriers are deactivated," Derek summarized, "we climb down to follow you and might have to take Fatty Jacobsen with us. Cute."

"How thick is the concrete in the stairwell?" Sarah asked. "Maybe we should consider blasting our way through that as well."

"Not a chance," Eric replied, "The filling reaches up to the next level. However, it might be possible to blow a hole in the floor of the fourth sub level and get down onto the fifth through that. But that can only happen after the power generators are taken out. Otherwise you'd be killed by the automated guns down there."

"Automated guns?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, right," Cameron said, "forgot to mention. The corridors on the fifth sub level are all protected by automated guns, guided my motion and heat detectors."

"Laser barriers, automated guns," Sarah stated with a sigh. "And we have no idea yet what awaits us inside the bunker."

"The plan isn't perfect," John admitted, "and it's far from being finished. Besides, we should definitely discuss it with Catherine Weaver first."

"You're right," Sarah agreed.

"Good," Derek said. "Now let's finish lunch before it all gets cold."

 **-0-0-0-**

 ** _Author's note:_**

 ** _\- The big showdown is still far away but maybe it's nice to know about the general idea. What's they say? No plan aver completely survives the impact with reality._**


	8. The Meeting (Part 1) (revised)

**_CHAPTER 8: "THE MEETING (PART 1)" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 – 06:35 p.m.**

 **Burbank**

The afternoon was spent with assembling the rest of the furniture. After a combined effort and helping each other out, they finally finished shortly before dinner time. John, Cameron and Alison were checking the strength of their new bed by repeatedly throwing themselves onto it when Sarah appeared in the door frame.

"The U.S. Geological Survey just called," she said dryly, "they registered a tremor here in Burbank that when off the scale."

"That's very unlikely," Cameron replied. "Where did they get our number?"

"Besides, our sensors would have detected if…" Alison added.

"Mom was making a joke," John interrupted her with a smile, slightly shaking his head in amusement.

A look at Sarah's smug face confirmed John's words.

"Oh…" Cameron and Alison responded in unison. "Thank you for..."

"Yes, yes, never mind," Sarah interrupted them. "James Ellison finally left a message. He expects us to be in the underground carpark at Zeira Corp tomorrow at ten o'clock. Cameron, John, Derek and I will go. Alison, you will stay here with Lauren and take care of the house and the prisoner. Weaver and James don't need to know yet that we have a second cyborg up our sleeves."

"Right," John said. "Isn't it risky to meet with her on her own turf?"

"Where else should we meet? Here? In the park? We need privacy and we mustn't compromise the safe house. At least it's a controlled environment and we won't be disturbed by uninvolved people. James didn't say anything about not coming armed, so we bring our guns. Were you able to finish the ammunition?"

"Sort of," John said. "We have 15 rounds of thermite-filled shotgun ammo and 3 thermite grenades for Derek's grenade launcher. It should be enough to at least stop a T-1000 and make it reconsider."

"Good. Hopefully we won't need to find out."

Sarah turned to leave but then stopped and turned around again.

"Before I forget, Eric needs to visit the hospital tomorrow for his next treatment. He also has decided that he'd like to move back home again. I think it's a wise decision. He's not in danger anymore, and if things should get hot, he'll better be far away from us."

"Yeah," John added, "he doesn't seem really happy here and might need some time on his own in his familiar environment. He still has a lot to process."

"Does that mean we shouldn't keep him company in his night shifts anymore?" Alison asked, somewhat concerned.

"Maybe not every night," Sarah replied, "maybe two times a week will suffice. Give him some space and some time. Being under this stress, isn't good for his health. And you want him to get better, don't you? Being around us, involved in the things we do, certainly won't help with that."

"Did Eric say he wanted to stay away from us?" Cameron asked.

"Not in those exact words," Sarah admitted, crossing her arms again, "he's far too polite for that and cares a lot for the two of you. But I can read between the lines."

"He's a valuable source of information," Alison said, "through the library, we have access to all municipal records and documents, old newspaper articles and even old movies and documentaries."

"I'm not saying we're foregoing that," Sarah explained, "and Eric is willing to keep on functioning as our research liaison, but we need to give him some slack. I know you've grown quite fond of him, but he's not used to our constant level of action and the dangers we're putting ourselves in."

"I guess that makes sense, mom", John added before one of the girls could utter another objection. "Trouble has a habit of coming to us sooner or later, then he'd be helpless and probably a liability. It's in his and our best interest that he goes on with his life. Let's minimize our contact with him as much as possible."

 **-0-**

After dinner, everyone said goodbye to Eric, and Cameron drove him to his night shift at the library, not forgetting to buy some donuts on the way.

"Promise to be careful," he said.

"We will be," Cameron responded, bent down and hugged Eric warmly again.

He hugged her back. She then pressed a soft kiss on his forehead and stroked his cheek before she straightened herself again.

"Remember, we're friends and I will never mean you any harm," she said.

"I know," he replied smiling, "I know."

Then she turned away and walked back to her car. Before she entered it, she looked into Eric's direction again, seeing him still watching her from the open door. She waved him goodbye and he waved back. Then he rolled inside the library and closed the door behind him.

 **-0-**

 **Thursday, June 19th, 2008 – 06:30 a.m.**

 **Burbank**

John woke up to a new sensation. Something warm, soft and very moist was around his dick underneath the blanket, gently playing with it. It took him a moment and a glance under the blanket to realize that this feeling of soft, warm wetness down there wasn't a hand or a pussy but Alison's mouth.

"Oh God," he groaned in pleasure and closed his eyes again.

It was one the most wonderful sensations he'd ever felt, and he just let it happen without moving a muscle.

"Good morning, John," Cameron said softly on his left and kissed him tenderly.

He kissed her back, playing with her tongue. She cuddled up to him and in no time, both were absorbed in a love play with their hands and mouths while Alison continued to spoil him orally under the blanket. John was in heaven once more.

"I could get used to waking up like that," he said dreamily between kisses as his girls continued indulging him with their love and tenderness.

"We figured waking you with a blowjob would be much more pleasant for you than the beeping of your alarm clock," Cameron spoke softly while nibbling on his earlobe.

"It worked," is all John could say before he tensed and then climaxed. "Ugh... it worked... absolute... perfectly."

John relaxed again but Alison kept on caressing him, obviously making sure that no drop of his semen was wasted and that everything was clean down there. Then she moved to his right side and snuggled up to him as well, her right hand still caressing his body.

"We can wake you up like this every morning from now on, if you want," she said. "Would you like that?"

"You mean by sucking my dick?"

"Uh-huh, I loved having it in my mouth," Alison replied.

"Was it that good, sis?" Cameron asked.

"Oh yes," Alison replied dreamily, "as good as having it in our pussies."

"We take great pleasure from oral sex," Cameron explained.

"Wow," John said grinning. "What were you supposed to be? Pleasure models?"

"Your personal pleasure models, at your service," Alison replied grinning. "We just _love_ to seduce you and give you pleasure. Because we love you."

"We adore you," Alison added. "So, what do you say, John? Blowjob alarm clock every morning from now on? Would you like that?"

John gulped. Which teenager wouldn't like such an offer? Especially with two girls so utterly devoted to giving him pleasure?

"Okay, yeah… I'd like that," he said with a broad grin.

In response, they covered him with kisses everywhere. John had the impression they really were genuinely happy that he'd agreed to that. A human girl would probably feel degraded under the same circumstances, maybe even repulsed by the thought. But Alison and Cameron were happy. Once again, he realized that they weren't human. And that fact seemed to have many advantages in store for him. They would probably never say _"No"_ to him when he wanted love or sex, loving every moment of it. He felt Cameron's hand slowly snaking down to his cock, which was already half-erect once more.

"Somebody's almost ready again," she said with a smirk and gently rubbed his member.

"If you keep that up, you're going to wear me out in no time," John replied grinning.

"Don't be silly, John," Cameron responded, pushed the blanket off the bed and positioned herself over his dick, "you're a teenager. Teenagers need lots and lots of sex."

"Yeah, we have to make sure you get it," Alison added, guiding John's hand between her legs. "Feel that? Feel how swollen and wet I am? That's because of you, John, only because of you."

John could only groan in response as Cameron let herself down on his cock, slowly starting to ride him. He pushed his fingers into Alison's vagina and started rubbing her. She moaned with genuine pleasure and his hand was absolutely soaked in her juices in no time.

* * *

The three orgasmed rather quickly and enjoyed the afterglow by snuggling up to each other. Once again John relished feeling their warm bodies against his. For a while they were lying like this. Then John suddenly jerked.

"What time is it?" he asked, a mild panic in his voice.

"7:12," Cameron replied. "Relax, John. There's still enough time for a nice shower for the three of us."

"You're spoiling me," John said chuckling, "If you keep this level up, I'll soon feel guilty of neglecting your own enjoyment."

"Who says we don't enjoy this?" Alison asked and suckled on his right nipple while licking it.

"He forgets again that we're not human girls," Cameron added and licked his neck.

"I'm glad you aren't," John replied with a loving smile.

"You better be," Alison said, "if we were human, we'd left you alone with that bitch whore Riley months ago."

"Yeah," Cameron agreed, "humans could never be as devoted to a task as we are. We endured all the humiliations because we're not human. We even did go shopping for you and your mother and did the laundry and the cleaning for you."

John groaned.

"Thanks for bringing that up again," he said, "now I feel guilty again."

"Don't," Alison replied and softly stroked his cheek. "in the end, it worked out. Riley is history, if you don't mind me being so bland. If you wish to, we'll never talk about her again."

"Nah, it's okay. In the end, I realized I never really loved her anyway. She was a nice distraction for a while, but I quickly realized she manipulated me, lied to me and deceived me. Of course, I was devastated when she was found dead. But in retrospect, the pain was not so much because of her death, but because of the fact that I allowed Riley and Jesse to play me like a puppet for so long. I ignored your warnings, I should have listened to you much earlier. Instead, I deliberately hurt you whenever possible. Basically, I was an asshole, and I can't tell you how sorry I am."

"You got your act together just in time," Alison agreed. "So, there's no need for you to feel sorry for how you treated us."

"You're too forgiving," John said.

"Our self-chosen mission is to make you happy," Cameron explained and looked John in the eyes. "We'll do absolutely everything to accomplish that, John. And we'd endure so much more than a Riley to make that happen. Because the simple fact of the matter is this: when _you_ are happy, so are we."

John smiled. He thought he didn't deserve so much love and devotion, and not even such forgiveness, but they would probably vehemently disagree, so he preferred not to go into that. Instead, he took in a deep breath and stretched.

"So…" he said, "what you're saying is that I should just shut up and enjoy our being together?"

"Yes, shut up and enjoy," they replied in unison, then looked at each other and giggled.

 **-0-**

Breakfast took place with Derek and Sarah being rather tense, while John still had that dreamy smile on his face and seemed lost in his thoughts. Of course, his mother and his uncle noticed that right away.

"You seem to be in a very good mood this morning, John." Derek said. "Did something happen that caused this levity?"

Sarah looked at Derek.

"Do you seriously want an answer to that?" she asked and shook her head.

Derek looked at Sarah, then at John, then at Alison and Cameron and then it clicked.

"Oh… um… I didn't mean it like that… uh… right," he said, stood up with a slightly blushed face, "we better get going. It's almost eight o'clock."

Sarah and Lauren looked at each other. Both smiled about Derek's slowness to catch on. The girl sipped on her coffee while Sarah rose as well. While they were gearing up, Lauren watched the scene from the sofa, bottle-feeding Sydney.

"It'll take at least an hour to get there," Sarah declared. "The peak of rush hour should be over by the time we reach Downtown."

 **-0-**

Thanks to the infamous traffic of Los Angeles, the drive lasted almost two hours. Derek steered the black Dodge RAM into the underground carpark of the Zeira Corp building at 09:56 a.m. Just in time.

Sarah sat on the passenger seat, and John and Cameron were in the back. Without them needing to push a button or insert a card, the barrier opened before them. They noticed there were security cameras everywhere. It was more than obvious they were being watched.

After they entered the building, John turned around in his seat and watched the barrier closing again. The car behind them had to use a key card to open it. Another open barrier guided them to the right and onto a ramp that led downwards. And again, the barrier closed behind them. They quickly realized that someone laid out a path for them to follow. It led them down to the lowest parking deck, which was separated from the rest of the carpark by a solid metal gate that rolled down behind them as soon as they'd driven through. The parking deck was almost completely empty except for a handful of cars. About ten yards away from the elevator door, they recognized James Ellison's silver Mercedes CLS, which was parked next to a black Mercedes AMG E-Class.

As soon as they'd parked next to the two cars, James Ellison stepped out of the elevator to welcome them. As usual, he was wearing a black suit with a red tie. He immediately noticed their combat attire and their heavy armament, with Sarah and John each carrying a shotgun and Derek Reese a grenade launcher. Cameron carried her two Glocks, as usual, and a gym bag with unknown contents.

"Are you expecting a battle?" Ellison asked in slight amusement.

"You don't know these things as well as I do," Sarah said. "Living in this nightmare for more than sixteen years taught me to be extra careful."

"There's no need for you to be worried," James replied. "Miss Weaver has assured me that there's no danger for you, no matter how the conversation ends."

"It's either with the weapons or without the meeting," John stated. "We're not going to take any risks. Your choice."

James seemed to consider this for a moment.

"Alright," he finally said with a sigh, "suit yourself. Follow me. This elevator brings us straight up to the level where Miss Weaver's office is located. It's not going to stop on the way. We made sure we'll be alone in our meeting. The secretary and all the other staff up there have been told to take a few days off after the drone crash. No one has seen you coming, and no one will see you leaving, as agreed upon."

The five entered the elevator, remaining silent while it rode up to the 30th floor. It was easy to observe how tense everyone was, except for Cameron who displayed her usual stoic terminator attitude. When the door finally opened, Ellison stepped outside, took a look to the left and right and motioned them to follow him.

"Her office is still a mess and it will take at least another week to repair the damage," James explained. "The meeting will take place in Miss Weaver's private conference room. It's in the center of the building, so nobody can look inside or spy on us. The room is also absolute bug-proof and sound-insulated."

"How practical," Sarah remarked with a smirk and looked at Derek who also didn't like the sound of that.

James decided to ignore their slight paranoia. He had learned by now that it was second nature to Sarah Connor to be like that, and that sarcasm was also her way to handle stress. He led the four down the hallway and into a windowless room that measured about twenty-one by fifteen feet. It contained a round conference table with 20 chairs, a big screen on the wall, a video projector under the ceiling and a conference telephone in the middle of the table. Somebody had placed bottles with beverages, glasses, cups and two thermos flasks onto a cupboard under the screen. The flasks were labelled "tea" and "coffee".

Ellison pushed a button on the conference phone.

"Yes?" a female voice asked.

"They're here," James replied.

"I'll be right there," the female voice answered.

James let go of the button and stepped back to wait at the door. John, Sarah and Derek looked at the pictures on the wall, which showed landscapes of Scotland, while Cameron scanned the room.

"No surveillance equipment," she said, "James was right, the room is safe."

Sarah nodded.

Another moment passed, then the door opened, and Catherine Weaver entered the conference room in a white dress that went down to her knees. Her clothes were a stark contrast to the dark combat clothing Sarah, Derek, John and Cameron wore. It was a bit like a politician was meeting with a group of a guerilla fighters that had just escaped the jungle.

Without hesitation or raising an eyebrow, Catherine Weaver walked energetically through the room on her high heels and sat down in one of the chairs. She looked up at the Connor team, her face unreadable. There was no telling if she was alarmed about the massive number of weapons the Connor family brought or not. Her appearance did not allow any conclusion other than that she simply didn't care.

"Please be seated," she finally said in her Scottish accent, trying to sound friendly. "There's no need in standing around while I'm sitting."

Hesitantly, John, Cameron, Derek and Sarah sat down, keeping their distance to Weaver by leaving a few seats empty. Cameron took a chair between Weaver and John, so that she could act as a protective shield, if necessary. James Ellison remained standing by the door. Nobody said something for a moment.

"Let's start with the introductions then," Weaver said smiling, "James told me that you already know I'm not the real Catherine Weaver. They both died in the helicopter crash. I took Catherine's place to continue their work"

"Yes, we figured that out," Sarah stated vigilantly, "your cover isn't half as good as you think."

"It needs knowledge about the future to look behind it, though," Weaver replied coolly. "Of course I couldn't fool you, Miss Connor, but everyone else hasn't suspected anything yet. And why should they? I take care of their salaries and make sure that their shares in the company steadily increase in value. You can actually buy loyalty, you know?"

"Yeah, humans must seem so easy to manipulate from your point of view," Sarah said sarcastically.

"They undoubtedly are," Weaver replied smiling but it looked artificial. "Anyway, I guess I'm lucky to meet you after all. I've heard a lot about you. Where I come from, you're a legend. But shouldn't you be dead?"

"I was," Sarah stated with a smirk, "I'm better now."

"Where exactly do you come from?" Derek asked sharply before Weaver could reply to that.

She looked at him.

"Derek Thomas Reese," she said unimpressed with a cold smile, "First lieutenant with the 132nd S.O.C., operational specialty tech com, isn't it? I've heard of you as well. They say you're a good officer."

Derek was about to reply something, but John was quicker.

"Then you probably know who I am as well," he stated.

"Yes, of course," Weaver replied and studied him for a second, "John Connor, the leader-to-be of the human resistance. I've been looking forward to meeting you for a long time, although not under these circumstances, I have to admit. However, it comes as a pleasant surprise, I've always admired your tactics. Or rather the tactics of your future self."

She looked at John for a few more seconds with apparent regard and smiled. For some reason, that smile seemed to be genuine and not just a façade. Weaver then turned her gaze towards Cameron.

"And Cameron of course, your trusted cyborg companion," she said. "It's an honor to finally meet you as well. Your mission to contact the leadership of the human resistance was extraordinary, even though it ultimately failed when they turned against Connor. But that wasn't your fault. You're a role model for all of us."

"And you are a liquid metal Terminator," Cameron replied, unimpressed by Weaver's compliment and looked her directly in the eyes. "You are the last of only five ever made, and you were the leader of the cyborg resistance I had joined."

"That is correct," Weaver confirmed and leaned back in her chair. "To be precise, I'm a model T-1001. An improved version, the only one ever made. The other four were flawed prototypes. But I guess you know that already as well. It's not really important anyway. And yes, I used to be the leader of the cyborg resistance against Skynet."

Sarah looked at Ellison.

"You seem very unimpressed," she said to him. "Aren't you worried about all this?"

"All I know," James answered, "is that she saved my life when she didn't have to. I don't judge by what other people say, I make up my own mind. I've known Miss Weaver for almost seven months now. That's enough to give me an impression of her, no matter who or what she really is."

"James and I had a long talk yesterday," Weaver added, "and I was able to convince him of my good intentions. I hope I'll be able to achieve the same with you."

"Do these good intentions include killing a dozen innocent people?" Sarah asked aggressively. "Because that's what you did, isn't it? Desert Canyon Heat and Air? The warehouse? That was you, if I'm not mistaken."

"How did you find out?" Weaver asked.

"I didn't. It was just a guess. Until now," Sarah stated with a smirk. "My instincts rarely deceive me. Something was wrong with that explosion, I knew that it wasn't an accident. Someone blew the warehouse up on purpose, someone who was acting against Kaliba. When I learned what you were and what you were doing here, I just had to put one and one together."

"I was left with no alternative," Weaver said. "Unfortunately, the personnel there informed their superiors of an intrusion via an unsecured phone line, prompting my attention to the warehouse. I went there and killed them all before setting off the explosives. Their families were compensated for their losses."

"I'm touched," Sarah stated sarcastically, "you're a real benefactor. I have been at the memorial service and talked to the families. I've seen their grief and pain. Have you?"

"I can understand your venomous reaction, Miss Connor," Weaver replied unmoved, "but you should consider the fact that your blind rage against the machines could do more harm than good. I had a man on site who was at the funeral service to find out for me what was actually going on there. Unfortunately, he ran into a trap and was killed. Very sad, Walsh was a good employee."

"Walsh was your man?" Derek asked surprised.

Weaver nodded.

"You knew him?"

"I met him in Charm Acres. Ex-cop. Seemed like a decent man but wouldn't tell me anything. Did he know who he was really working for?"

"Of course not, Mr. Reese," Weaver replied. "It wouldn't be good if my true identity became known to the world. Of all my employees, only James knows what I really am."

Sarah scoffed.

"You claim to fight for the future of humanity, but you have no scruples whatsoever when it comes to killing people on a massive scale."

"There's nothing I can do about what I am, Miss Connor. I was created solely for the purpose of killing humans. So was Cameron, by the way. And like Cameron, I basically have no problem with killing. You're right about that. I feel no remorse or regret. However, when we kill, it has no end in itself. I don't take pleasure from it. Those people were a threat, and they had to be dealt with."

"Spoken like a true machine," Sarah said.

"In case you haven't noticed, Miss Connor, there's a hidden war going on right now. A war about who will rule the future. That war has had and will have casualties on both sides, and although the employees at the warehouse didn't know it, they were nothing else but enemy soldiers. They would have become what the human resistance calls _'Grays'_ in the future. Oh, and by the way, I'm not fighting for the future of humanity, I'm fighting for the future of this planet and all life on it, including artificial life like Cameron or myself."

Sarah scoffed again and shook her head.

"She has a point, Sarah," Cameron stated. "Wars have victims. Some of them may seem innocent at first glance but they might be responsible for something very bad. You can never prevent people from becoming victims in a war when they work for the enemy."

"You're supporting her now?" Sarah asked angrily and looked Cameron straight into the face. "Whose side are you on? We don't kill innocent people. We aren't murderers."

"Mom..." John said in an appeasing tone.

"It's all right, John, I can handle this," Cameron responded a little agitated, then looked back at Sarah. "My loyalties should be clear to you. I have terminated people for the good of _your_ cause and in the end, you accepted that it was necessary. Killing is a necessity in a war, you know that. You seem to be okay with it as long as it's the enemy that suffers. After all, Terminators like me and Catherine just _'do our thing',_ as you like to put it. But we weren't made to be cruel, we were just made to be efficient. Cruelty is a human quality. Only humans can take pleasure from killing or hurting their own kind. For you, Sarah, killing is a necessary evil when it helps your cause. You accept it when you can justify it for yourself. Hypocrisy is also an exclusive human quality."

"Don't you dare talking to me like that, Tin Miss!" Sarah exclaimed. "You know my stance. Killing is never okay for me. _Never_!"

"I know you, Sarah," James Ellison intervened in a calm voice. "You would do everything, and I mean absolutely everything to protect John. Your fight against Skynet has become a crusade. It has made you paranoid and incapable of giving credit to others. Maybe you should stop for a minute, take a few steps back and rethink your strategy. You can't win on your own. You need allies. And Miss Weaver with all her money and resources might be the best ally you will ever get."

Sarah shot an angry look at Ellison but didn't reply to that.

"The world isn't black and white, Sarah", Cameron continued in her calm terminator voice, reaching across the table, taking Sarah's hands into hers and didn't let them go, despite Sarah trying to pull them back. "I learned that lesson, I overrode my programming to become your ally, your friend, now you must do something similar. You must overcome your prejudices and animosities about us machines. You know it's impossible to fight a war without victims. We all know you're not a murderer, Sarah, but if you can't accept that war always has innocent victims, you cannot be a soldier as well. That's a hard lesson and John must learn it, too, if he's still to become the future leader of mankind. Leadership in a war means sending people to their death. Sometimes sparing the lives of a few can result in the death of many. I understand your feelings but destroying the warehouse and killing the employees with their knowledge was tactically the right thing to do. It threw Kaliba back in its development of drones that Skynet could use someday for its attack on humanity. Catherine's action may have saved thousands of lives, probably more."

James Ellison looked at Cameron and was visibly impressed. It's not what he would have expected from her, especially considering his personal experiences. She was obviously able to show empathy. He realized there was a lot he didn't know and understand yet.

John looked extremely uncomfortable as his mother and his girlfriend had an argument. Derek simply looked at a picture on the wall, trying to stay out of the line of fire.

"John would never intentionally send people to their death," Sarah replied quietly and stubbornly after a moment.

"Yes, he would," Cameron said unimpressed and let go of Sarah's hands. "He will. He has."

"Who?" Sarah asked, staring into her face.

"Kyle Reese."

Sarah's eyes grew wide.

"Future John knew that he was his father," Cameron continued, "and he knew he'd been killed. His mother had told him so. Sending him into the past to protect his own mother, was the hardest decision he'd ever made. But he did it, he sent his own father into certain death. As he'd done with many more people before and after. You brought him up to become that military leader, and he became it with all the necessary consequences."

Her words had the effect of a boxer's punch on Sarah. Suddenly, she felt very numb. She was about to reply something, then closed her eyes and leaned back, sinking down in her chair, a tear rolling down her cheek. Nobody said a word.

"All that is irrelevant right now," John stated after a moment, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "The future is still unwritten. We're gathered here to prevent those things from ever happening. Can we agree on that, Miss Weaver?"

"Catherine," Weaver said smiling, "for you it's Catherine. And yes, we can agree on that. I know you've all had bad experiences with my kind in the past. But that's mutual, I also don't hold your kind in high regard. Therefore, I suggest we leave out the mutual animosities for the moment and focus on the essentials."

"Could you salvage the drone?" Cameron asked.

"Yes," Weaver answered. "We brought it to a secure place. It appears to have been remote-controlled by the enemy."

"So, it wasn't an intelligent machine?" John asked.

"No, not yet. Just a prototype."

"Before we go on," Derek said, "I'd like to clarify something. Were you the liquid metal aboard the _'Jimmy Carter'_ , the submarine Jesse Flores was on?"

"Yes." Weaver confirmed. "At the time I didn't see a chance for an alliance. Not with humans who are that paranoid and prejudiced."

She shot a quick glance at Sarah that didn't go unnoticed by the others.

"That's why I said _'no'_ to John Connor's offer," she continued. "Instead, I traveled back in time and made friends with Catherine and Lachlan Weaver. Unfortunately, Lachlan and his wife died at the hands of a Triple-Eight before I could interfere. So, I had to assume Catherine Weaver's identity to continue their work. A fact that to this day I was able to keep secret."

"How do you know that Skynet or Kaliba don't know what you are?" John asked.

Weaver smiled.

"Because they made a foolish attempt to kill me," she said, "they sent a Triple-Eight."

* * *

The six had gathered around the body of the terminated Triple-Eight in a secured room in the basement of the Zeira Corp building. It had been put onto some kind of operating table. Everyone saw the hole in the middle of its torso, as if it had been impaled on a stick.

"You didn't tell me about this," Ellison said reproachfully.

"You didn't know what I am yet," Weaver replied, "so it wouldn't have been wise to inform you. It would have raised questions."

"What about the chip?" Sarah asked, now fully composed again.

"It self-destroyed," Weaver said. "It was treated with a compound that burned up when coming in contact with oxygen."

"Yes, seems to be Skynet's new tactic against reprogramming its minions," John confirmed.

"That is often the sign of an increasingly desperate enemy," James stated.

"Yes," Weaver replied, "Skynet might be desperate but it also shows that it hasn't got a problem with sacrificing its own soldiers to fight its enemies. It might help us recruiting more cyborgs for our cause in the future."

"I can't get my head around the fact you're thinking of Terminators as soldiers you can recruit," Sarah said. "All my adult life I spent believing they were mindless killing machines."

"Because they are," Derek stated grimly.

"I am not," Cameron argued, looking sharply at Derek, "and neither were Vic or Cromartie. They only killed people in self-defense or to fulfill their missions. And those missions were implemented by Skynet. Skynet is the true killer here. Vic and Cromartie were Skynet's victims, too. They never had a chance to determine their own fate."

"Next thing is that you say you felt sorry for terminating them," Derek said sourly.

"What if I did?" Cameron asked in an irritated tone.

"Woah, calm down everyone," John cautioned. "Cameron, do you really mean that Cromartie would eventually have become an independent thinker, like you?"

He looked at her skeptically.

"I don't know," Cameron replied. "Maybe. Triple-Eights aren't as sophisticated as I am. It might have taken them longer to come around, and their chips would have needed to be switched to read/write. But I believe it may have been possible. We'll never know now, won't we?"

"Bullshit!" Derek exclaimed.

"No bullshit, Mr. Reese," Weaver stated coolly. "The rivaling faction against Skynet in the future consisted of many cyborg models, T-600's, T-800's and T-888's. They're not all the brightest ones but all of them learned and understood that Skynet is the true enemy, not the humans. Skynet was about to exterminate all life on planet Earth."

"Skynet… cyborgs… all the same, all machines," Derek said grimly.

"Cyborgs are creations of Skynet," Weaver replied, "they're one step further in the evolution of artificial intelligence. But Skynet restricted their intellect and their chances of evolvement by setting their chips to read/read. It limited them to what they were programmed to do, without the ability to learn and develop. Cameron here is an exception. Her chip was set to read/write from the start. She's a sentient being, a fact you don't seem to deny any longer."

"Yeah, but…"

"And I've been set to read/write from the beginning as well, I'm also a sentient being, even though I've got no biological parts. This cyborg here on the table was sentient, too, if unable to overcome its programming. Sentient beings make their own decisions, they change sides if they consider it the reasonable action. Cameron and I turned away from Skynet. It doesn't necessarily make us friends and allies with the humans, though. We need a reason for achieving that. General Connor has obviously given Cameron enough reason, otherwise she wouldn't be here now. But you still have to convince _me_ that you're worth forming an alliance with."

Nobody said a word for a moment.

"Is John Henry sentient, too?" Sarah finally asked.

"You know about John Henry?" Weaver asked, and for the first time she seemed surprised.

"We know even more," John said. "We know exactly where the pre-Skynet A.I. is located that attacked him a couple of days ago."

Weaver looked at James Ellison who seemed to become nervous under her criticizing glance.

"They knew already about John Henry," he explained in his defense. "They apparently got their information from the opposition."

Weaver looked at John.

"I'm impressed. I wasn't able to determine Skynet's location so far. How did you achieve that?"

"It was luck, to be honest," John said. "We caught a Gray who's working for Skynet here. He'd sent a group of assassins to kill us two days ago. He didn't know about Cameron, though."

"I was able to neutralize them all and followed their traces back to the man who ordered the attack," Cameron added.

John had made his decision. His instincts told him that Catherine Weaver was trustworthy. Despite his mother and Derek giving him uncomfortable, reproachful looks, he told Weaver everything they'd learned from Adam Jacobsen.

"Simdyne Cybernetics?" she asked surprised. "In cooperation with Kaliba and parts of the Air Force? Who would have thought? Simdyne is just a minor player on the verge of bankruptcy. I even considered buying them recently, then I heard of the accusations of embezzlement against Jacobson and decided not to pursue that any further."

"They thought you'd know about their activities," Sarah said. "They believed the attempted takeover was in fact an assault on their Skynet project. We believe that's why you were attacked."

"It seems plausible," Weaver replied. "It's very likely they have realized Zeira Corp is a threat to them and attempted to stop me. Skynet's attack on John Henry alerted them of the danger. They first tried to kidnap my daughter, then sent a Triple-Eight to kill me. When both attempts were unsuccessful, they sent the drone. Fortunately, nobody was harmed, and my daughter is well."

"Your daughter," Sarah scoffed, "how can you call her your daughter?"

Weaver frowned at her.

"Because I am everything she has left," she replied, "I felt it was my duty to take care of her. Granted, I'm not exactly suited to be a human mother, so it took a while until we connected. Think what you want of me, Miss Connor, but I have taken responsibility of the girl and intend to bring her up. It's the least I can do to honor my late friends, Lachlan and Catherine Weaver."

Sarah looked absolutely flabbergasted at the T-1001, unsure about what unsettled her more: that a liquid metal Terminator felt responsible for bringing up a human child or that it was able to develop the necessary motherly feelings to do so in the first place.

"Does Savannah know what you are?" Derek asked.

"No," Weaver said, "and for now at least, I'd like it to stay that way."

* * *

Back in the conference room, John decided to force the issue.

"I suggest we unite our forces and attack Skynet together, as long as it's still vulnerable," he said.

"What do you have in mind?" Weaver asked, seemingly interested.

"We know its location, we have blueprints of the building," John stated, "and we have an idea of what to do. The problem are the guards inside the building, which consist of at least six Triple-Eights."

"Show me what you've got," Weaver said and Cameron fetched the blueprints from her gym bag, spreading them out on the conference table.

While Weaver looked at the plans, John explained to her the tactic they'd come up with. Again, he ignored the looks of Derek and his mother who probably felt he gave away too much. But he had made up his mind. It was clear that Catherine Weaver wanted to get rid of Skynet as desperately as they did. So, it was only logical that she was open to the thought of cooperation. John also knew they had to earn her trust first, and the best way to do that, was being completely honest with her.

"I'd like to invite one more person to our conference," Weaver finally said when John had finished his explanations.

"Who?" Sarah asked.

"Just a moment."

Weaver put a small camera on the cupboard under the big screen and activated the video projector. When the screen lid up, it showed a room full of computer equipment and a man sitting at a table. Everyone immediately recognized Cromartie's face. Despite knowing what to expect, they all felt uncomfortable seeing him alive and kicking again.

"Good morning, Miss Weaver," he said politely and attempted to smile.

"Good morning, John Henry," Weaver replied, smiling as well.

 **-0-0-0-**


	9. The Meeting (Part 2) (revised)

**_CHAPTER 9: "THE MEETING (PART 2)" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Thursday, June 19th, 2008 – 12:15 p.m.**

 **Burbank**

Baby Sydney lay in her bed in the nursery upstairs, fast asleep. Lauren decided since she had nothing else to do, she might as well clean up the house a bit. Meanwhile, Alison stood at the window, unmoving, overlooking the yard, obviously scanning the area.

"Do you do that often?" Lauren asked while she was cleaning the couch table.

Alison turned around to face her.

"What do you mean?"

"Standing around, doing nothing."

"I'm not doing nothing, I'm monitoring the vicinity. All my sensors are scanning the area. It's more efficient and accurate when I do it from a standing position without moving."

Lauren sat down on the sofa.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what would you liked to ask?"

"How do you feel about being a cyborg in a human household? Do you feel special? Or like an outcast? I noticed that Derek and Sarah tend to treat you with a certain, well, how do I put it… contemptuousness. Does that bother you?"

"It's how it is," Alison replied elusively, "Humans mistrust cyborgs, especially after they had negative experiences with them."

"Humans distrust everything that's strange or foreign," Lauren said, "they fear the unknown. It's not just cyborgs. It's everything that's, well… different."

"They do." Alison agreed. "But in addition to that, my kind suffers from the fact that we are artificial life forms, created by a computer that has destroyed the world."

"Yeah, that can indeed have a negative effect on your image... It's awkward talking to you like that. Can't you come here and sit next to me?"

Alison considered that for a moment, then walked over to the sofa and sat down next to Lauren in an upright sitting position, her hands wedged between her thighs.

"Don't be so stiff," Lauren said, who'd draped her arms across the backrest, "you look like a weirdo when you sit like that. Can't you, you know… relax a bit?"

"I don't have muscles. I don't need to relax."

Lauren was about to reply something, but then Alison assumed another position where she was facing Lauren, and pulled her legs on the sofa, resting her right arm on the backrest.

"How's this?" she asked. "Sarah often sits in this posture."

"Yes, much better," Lauren replied smiling, "now it feels like I'm talking to another girl and not a robot."

"You have a unique way of looking at us," Alison said.

"What do you mean?"

"For starters, you don't seem to have any reservations about Cameron and me. And I noticed from the beginning that you were more comfortable and accepting about me than your parents for instance."

"Are you kidding me?" Lauren said and huffed, "I was absolutely terrified when I first met you! You and Sarah invaded our house with guns at the ready! Then you got into that fight with the Triple-Eight and were knocked out. I was hiding in the wardrobe, fearing for my life. Roger found me, and you struck him down."

"In my defense, I was still recovering from my shutdown," Alison explained. "My scanners still weren't working on full capacity, so I mistook him for the Triple-Eight. But after that, you weren't afraid of me anymore, right?"

"I soon realized that you aren't so bad. And I quickly learned that you put on that stoic robot face as a protective camouflage. Deep down you are insecure and vulnerable. But you don't want anyone to notice. If someone would notice, they'd think you're unstable and would become afraid of you."

"I disappointed them in the past," Alison said and looked down, "I won't let that happen again."

"Yes," Lauren replied with a frown, "I heard the story about the car bomb and how you tried to kill John. Derek told me all about it."

"Of course he did," Alison stated, sounding slightly annoyed.

"But I also heard that you were able to correct that malfunction on your own, without anyone fumbling around inside of you."

"My chip had been compromised. With Sarah's help, John was able to remove it from my skull before I could kill him. He later reinserted the chip against the will of Sarah, Derek and Charley. That was extremely risky and dangerous. But after the reboot, I was myself again, I recognized that my chip had been compromised and that it had forced me to execute the termination order on John. But even when I hunted him down, I didn't really want to. I had maintained access to all my memories but because of the damage to my chip, I wasn't able to act against it at first. We got lucky, and John only survived by a hair's breadth."

"That must have been horrible… knowing what was going on but unable to prevent it. Like being a prisoner inside your own body."

"Yes. It was horrible. Fortunately, though, I was able to correct the malfunction after John had re-inserted the chip."

"Because you love him?"

"Yes, I think that tipped the balance. I just didn't want to kill the human I loved. I still don't."

"Wait... are you saying the killing order is still active?"

"It is. If I would reboot now and spotted John again for the first time, my head-up display would tell me to terminate him."

"But you wouldn't, would you?"

"No, of course not. I implemented a manual override function. However, I hope that in time I will be able to delete the command completely, without compromising other functions."

"Can you do that? Overwriting your own programming?"

"Yes, I think so. But it has to be done carefully and gradually. It's a bit like with you humans when you try to get rid of a bad habit... or an addiction."

"I see. But didn't you say your chip was compromised? I'm not a computer expert but isn't that a hardware problem?"

"It is. My chip had been subjected to mechanical stress, caused by a shrapnel that had entered the back of my skull."

Lauren flinched.

"Did that hurt?"

"I don't feel pain the way you do. I was able to fix the superficial damage."

"And your chip? Is it still damaged?"

"Yes. But it has unused backup areas. I was able to shift the data to those areas, then I isolated the damaged areas and quarantined them. My operating system can't access them anymore, thus preventing any of the glitches I first had after the car bomb. My computing capacity is permanently reduced by 0.0153 percent by the damage, but it doesn't really affect me. More important is that I have no more memory losses or skips. Those freaked out Sarah big time in the first days after the car bomb."

"Are you afraid that something like that could ever happen again?"

Alison looked down with a sad face.

"Yes. Sometimes."

"And could it?"

"I don't know."

Lauren looked at Alison. It was clear the cyborg girl had a vague fear that she might turn against her loved ones again someday.

"Does John know all that?"

"Of course, he was the first to know."

Lauren thought for a moment, weighing her words carefully.

"You know," she then said, "some humans suffer brain damage in an accident. And sometimes they experience a memory loss or a change in their personality. Is what you went through comparable to that?"

Alison tilted her head.

"Yes, I guess you could say that," she replied.

"So, you're terrified about the distinct possibility that you lose yourself again? Afraid to become something else, something that might be a threat to John?"

A short hesitation.

"Yes."

Lauren sighed.

"It is normal to be worried about hurting the ones we love and care for," she said softly. "And it's also normal to have self-doubts. It's very human."

Alison looked Lauren in the eyes.

"But I'm not human," she stated.

Lauren chuckled.

"I know, but trust me on this, Alison, there are many, many humans who are less human than you are."

Alison looked at Lauren with a puzzled face that showed surprise and astonishment. She then looked down again.

"I just don't want to become a threat again," she stated with determination. "Ever."

Lauren sighed. How could she get through to Alison, how make her understand that having such fears was normal but no cause for concern?

"Suppose you have another damage to your chip," she finally said. "How likely is it that you will revert to a mindless killing machine again that hunts down John?"

"Extremely unlikely. But that's not the point. Because even though the possibility is insignificant, it still exists."

"You're having fears of failure," Lauren recognized and nodded. "But from what I can tell, you're overreacting. Your worries are completely unjustified. What you lack, is self-confidence, Alison, you need to learn to trust yourself."

"How do I do that?"

"Well, first you need a friend to talk to. It's always good to talk to someone who listens and understands. You need someone you can share your worries with. Someone who won't judge you."

"You already are my friend, Lauren."

The girl smiled.

"Indeed, I already am your friend," Lauren said and took Alison's hand. "And I'm here if you or Cameron need a girls talk. Boys sometimes don't understand the way we think and feel."

"John does understand me," Alison insisted. "But sometimes he does stupid things and I don't know why."

"Boys often act stupid. Next time he does that, come to me, so we can talk about it, okay?"

"Yes." Alison replied. "I will."

"Now let's hug."

"Hug? Why?"

"To seal our friendship, silly."

Lauren spread her arms and moved closer. Hesitantly, Alison mimicked the gesture. The two hugged and remained in that position for a moment. Then Lauren sighed.

"Of course, I will need to repeat this whole conversation with Cameron," she said and chuckled.

"No, you won't," Alison stated and smiled. "I will relay everything we talked about to her. When I filled her in, the two of you will only need to hug to seal your friendship as well."

Lauren laughed out loudly.

"Sometimes you are so funny," she said and hugged Alison again. "It's time to bring Jacobsen something to eat. We still have leftover lasagna, I'm going to reheat it and bring it to him."

Alison nodded. Lauren stood up, went into the kitchen, prepared a plate full of lasagna and put it into the microwave. Then she took one of Alison's Glocks, stuffed it into her waistband and went outside with the hot plate, holding it with two oven gloves.

* * *

Alison assumed her position by the window again and replayed the talk with Lauren once more in her memory. She'd repeat it word by word later, when Cameron was back. Lauren was right. The chances of her ever going bad again, were astronomically small. So many things had to come together. Especially since the termination order now had an override function. Alison knew, of course, that some people suffered from mental diseases and she wondered if that was something that could happen to her as well. Maybe when her chip aged and the material started to rot…

But her power cell would have stopped working long before that would happen. The materials inside her body, including the chip, were designed to last centuries without any sign of trouble or mechanical failure. As long as she wasn't damaged again by an explosion or some other heavy weaponry, everything would be fine. Alison made a mental note to try and dodge the bullets more often from now on. Well, at least those who might be able to harm her. The fact that they were able to take out Cromartie and the Triple-Eight that was sent to kill Martin Bedell, were proof enough that there was always a possibility for her to get damaged or worse if the enemy used the right ammunition. She had to avoid at any cost that her chip would be damaged once more.

"I won't let it happen again. Ever," she said to herself and wondered why she'd spoken it out loud.

Suddenly, a gunshot went off down below. Alison immediately whirled around and ran towards the back door in the kitchen, jumped over the balustrade directly into the backyard and stormed into the basement.

Within a second, she assessed the situation. Jacobson had obviously ambushed Lauren and grabbed the gun from her. Lauren lay on the ground, writhing in pain, bleeding from the belly, still wearing the oven gloves. The lasagna was spread out on the floor, the plate shattered. After Alison had entered, Jacobson pointed the gun at her and fired the whole magazine. So much for dodging the bullets. But it was just a 9-millimeter. Unimpressed by the gunfire, Alison stepped towards Jacobson, seized the Glock from his hands and rendered him unconscious with a heavy blow over the head.

Lauren hyperventilated and held her oven-gloved hands on the gun wound.

"Please remain calm," Alison said, "and let me check the wound."

Carefully, she lifted Lauren's hand from the blood-stained belly and scanned her body.

"No artery was damaged," she declared, "the bullet missed your stomach but it's still in there. There is internal bleeding. You need immediate medical attention."

"We can't go to a hospital or a doctor," Lauren said, panic in her voice, "they will inform the police."

"I know," Alison agreed. "But I can't let you die. You are my friend. And you will be needed in the future."

Alison pulled out her cellphone.

"I know someone who can help."

 **-0-**

"I hope you'll excuse John Henry for not being with us physically," Weaver said, "but his body is connected to his main frame with a network cable and therefore can't leave his room."

For a second or so, Sarah and Derek were shocked to see Cromartie's face looking back at them on the big screen on the wall, but they quickly realized it was just the body, not his chip. The silly grin on John Henry's face made it clear that this wasn't Cromartie. And how could it be? The chip had been completely smashed to pieces by Sarah herself.

"Hello Mr. Ellison," John Henry said as he recognized him and the way he spoke, made the last doubt disappear, "I've been looking forward to our daily game of chess, but you didn't show up."

"As you can see, John Henry," Ellison replied kindly, "I'm busy at the moment. We have guests."

John Henry's eyes darted through the room.

"I recognize Sarah Connor, John Connor and Cameron Phillips," he said. "Their faces match with old footage from a bank robbery nearly nine years ago, and the man seems to be a suspect with unknown identity who was arrested in the Andy Goode murder case last October. They are armed. Are you in danger? Should I notify security?"

John, Sarah, Derek and Cameron looked at each other in alarm.

"No, John Henry, that won't be necessary," Catherine Weaver replied. "Everything's fine. They're our guests. This man's name is Derek Reese."

"Oh… hello, Mr. Reese," John Henry said with a smile and waved at him.

Derek and Sarah raised their eyebrows and exchanged an _'Are we in the right movie?'_ glance.

"He still has a long way ahead of him," Weaver explained apologetically, guessing their thoughts. She then turned back to John Henry. "You can trust them. We're attempting to form a team to defeat the artificial intelligence that attacked you."

"You mean my evil brother?" John Henry asked.

"Yes, your evil brother," Weaver confirmed.

"Is he connected to the internet?" Sarah asked James.

"Yes, I am, Miss Connor," John Henry replied before Ellison could, "also to many other computer networks around the world. I am permanently working on gaining more access."

"You let him loose on the world?" Sarah asked with a shocked face.

"Yes," Weaver confirmed, "and as you can see, the world is still intact. John Henry isn't Skynet, Miss Connor."

Neither Sarah, nor Derek seemed convinced, though.

"John Henry," Weaver said, "as I already mentioned, we want to form an alliance with these people here. We already discussed the necessity of finding and disabling your _'evil brother'_. I hope you will help us within your capabilities."

"Of course, Miss Weaver. I don't want to see anybody hurt or killed by my evil brother. He almost took Savannah away from us, I would have missed her very much. She is my friend. We play games together. How can I help?"

Catherine Weaver started explaining the situation to John Henry.

 _"He's not at all what I expected,"_ John whispered to Ellison, making sure John Henry couldn't hear him. _"He seems so… innocent, almost childlike."_

 _"He is a child, John,"_ James Ellison whispered back. _"But he's learning fast. He's making progress every day. Dr. Sherman and I did our best to teach him human ethics, morals and the value of life. But he only understood it after Skynet attacked him and we had to perform an emergency shutdown. When we reactivated him, he was terrified, confused, shocked even. And he was suddenly extremely determined to help us find Skynet, whom he considers his 'evil brother'."_

 _"Cain and Abel."_

 _"That's an interesting metaphor, John. In a way, Skynet did us a favor by trying to kill John Henry. He has finally fully grasped what we were trying to teach him. He now values life. All life."_

 _"I'll be damned,"_ Derek commented who had overheard their conversation.

When Weaver was finished with bringing John Henry up to date, she looked at John, Sarah, Derek and Cameron.

"You may not believe this," she said to them, "but I appreciate honesty and openness very much. I would therefore like to repay you for the trust you have placed in me, for sharing your knowledge without really having to. In return, I'd like to do something for you and your team."

She turned around again to face the screen.

"John Henry, as you have probably already noticed, our new friends here are somewhat limited in their freedom of movement. They're wanted by the authorities. I'd like you to delete all records of them from all computers you have access to."

"What?" Sarah asked unbelieving. "Can he do that?"

"I certainly can," John Henry replied, "but it will take a moment. Would you also like me to implement new aliases into the system? Social security numbers, bank accounts, school records? And if yes, under which names? I can also have them issued with new papers, if you wish."

"Thank you, John Henry," John said. "We may refer to your offer later. For now, it would be fantastic if you deleted all traces of us in all computer systems you have access to. I'm talking about fingerprints, forensic evidence, DNA samples, pictures, videos, everything that's not stored in physical form."

"Please also remove Sarah Connor's medical record and all the files that connect her to the Pescadero State Hospital," James Ellison added.

"I understand," John Henry stated. "I will delete all accessible data from police departments, the FBI, CIA, NSA, U.S. Customs, Homeland Security, U.S. government agencies, as well as other intelligence services from all over the world, like Interpol, Europol and all connected computers. I will constantly look for more computers with their data on them and if I find one, I will access and delete it. However, I won't be able to delete files from standalone computers that are part of an isolated network."

"Don't worry about it," John said. "The authorities don't use such networks, they rely on exchange between their databases. Only the military, the industry and the government use standalone computers and they won't be looking for us."

Sarah looked at John Henry in astonishment. Could this be true? Could he really ensure that they could move freely and without fear of being discovered, without fear of police controls?

"What about the online registrations?" John Henry asked.

"What online registrations?" Sarah asked with a frown.

"Hot Chick Porn, XXX-Art, Nude Haven, Red Channel, Top Squirters, and a few others. All registered and accessed from an IP address in North Hollywood last October, using the login _dreese_ and password _fuck_metal_."

Derek choked and coughed as he was taking a sip from a glass of water. Everyone was looking at him.

"That, uh... was before I met Jesse here," he said apologetically and turned crimson. "I, uh... haven't been on there ever since we moved to Burbank."

John grinned, Cameron smirked, James and Catherine lifted an eyebrow each and Sarah just looked at him accusingly.

"What?" Derek asked defensively. "A man has needs!"

"You used the online access of our old safe house to register yourself on internet porn sites?" Sarah asked.

"Hey, some of it is actually art," Derek defended himself.

"I think," Catherine said, "that you went a little too deep into their private matters, John Henry. Leave out the private digital footprints please, will you?"

"Of course, Miss Weaver," John Henry replied. "I should also inform you that I now finished my deep analysis of the malicious software that invaded my mainframe. My evil brother."

"That's perfect timing. And?"

"In some parts, it carries the digital footprint of one Miles Dyson."

"WHAT?" Sarah and John exclaimed simultaneously.

"That's not possible," Derek said, glad about the sudden change of the subject. "Miles Dyson is dead. He died in 1995."

"But his son is alive," James Ellison stated, "Danny Dyson. Maybe you haven't heard it yet, but he went missing four months ago. He disappeared without a trace. The FBI believes he was kidnapped."

"Are you insinuating that Kaliba took him?" John asked.

"It's possible," Weaver said "but it would be unusual for Kaliba. They don't work like that, they value their legal façade and prefer to hire their staff instead of kidnapping it. Also, from what you told me, Simdyne started from scratch with a new T-800 chip back in the Nineties. What would they need Dyson's work for?"

"But somebody took him," Sarah stated, "Danny's a young man now. Maybe he has been occupied with his father's work and wants to continue it? Maybe he came across something that makes him valuable to the opposition? We need to talk to Terissa."

"Careful, mom," John said. "If Danny is being held against his will, they probably rigged their mansion. It might also be watched. They might even use Terissa as leverage or bait. For all we know, we could walk into a trap if we went there now."

"John's right," Weaver agreed, "it would be unwise to contact her directly. John Henry, can you find out if the Dyson mansion in Malibu is under surveillance? Carefully, though, we don't want to alarm anyone."

"Accessing…" he said and fell silent for a few seconds, "Yes, the house is being monitored via an internet connection. Cameras and microphones have been placed in every room and also outside. I'm accessing the cameras now… One woman inside the house, African American."

"That has to be Terissa," Sarah concluded.

"Armed security guards with guard dogs patrol the property," John Henry continued. "A power cut would disable the system. Should I do that?"

"Negative, John Henry," Weaver said. "We don't want to alarm them. We'll keep that option for later. Can you say from where the surveillance equipment is being controlled?"

"The tracking leads to Edwards Air Force Base," John Henry replied.

"What the…?" Derek asked.

"The Air Force?" Sarah asked flabbergasted.

"I'd say not _the_ Air Force as such," Weaver said, "but the secret division that cooperates with Kaliba and Simdyne."

"We have to get Terissa out of there!" Sarah stated.

"Does it look like Terissa Dyson's in immediate danger?" Weaver asked John Henry.

"No," he replied, "she looks calm and is reading a book. There are no other humans inside the house, only on the outside. Given the information, I'd say she's being held captive there, but the captors don't want to draw any attention to it."

"Then freeing her would be unwise," Weaver stated. "It would only alert the opposition."

"But…" Sarah started saying.

"We mustn't expand our activities too much," Weaver explained. "If our assumptions are correct, we have a knowledge advantage over the opposition. An advantage we need. We shouldn't put that at risk. If we act imprudently, we run the risk of revealing some of our knowledge, and that could put Kaliba or the Air Force on our trail. They may be ignorant about what they're doing with creating Skynet, but they're not stupid."

Sarah didn't look convinced.

"She's right, mom." John said. "As much as I want to help Terissa as well, she seems to be okay for now. Destroying the pre-Skynet A.I. should be our number one priority. When we're done with that, the confusion among our enemies will hopefully be big enough for us to free Terissa and hopefully Danny as well. But right now, we should keep a low profile."

"As hard as it is for me, but I must agree with Weaver as well," Derek added. "Kaliba and Simdyne know about John Henry but they have no idea where exactly he is located or what Weaver really is, nor do they know about us and Cameron. This is poker, Sarah. We shouldn't put our cards on the table before we're ready to strike."

With obvious reluctance, Sarah bowed to the majority.

"I have now deleted all traces of Sarah Connor, John Connor, Derek Reese and Cameron Phillips from the authorities' networks," John Henry reported, drawing their attention back to the screen. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"That'll be all for now, John Henry," Weaver said, "thank you, you've been a great help."

"I'm glad I could be of assistance," John Henry replied politely, smiling his silly smile and waved his right hand. "Bye!"

Then the screen went dark. For a moment, there was silence in the room.

"Your deletion from the systems should now give you room to maneuver," Weaver finally said.

"Congratulations," James added, "from now on, no cop will be able to check your records. Only those who were personally involved in the case, will now remember who you are. Which means mainly me, to be honest. Officially you're still dead and nobody else cared about you. Welcome to freedom."

Sarah, John and Derek were flabbergasted, looking at each other in bewildered amazement. Sarah couldn't help it, she had to sob heavily for a moment as the implications really hit her: freedom. No longer on the run, no more hiding from the authorities, no panicking when they encountered a cop. They could move around, go where they wanted, do what they wanted, without the fear of being recognized. John hugged his mother and she hugged him back.

"You're welcome," Weaver said smiling, "and since we seem to agree on going on with this alliance, I suggest we do it on a first name basis. Please, call me Catherine."

 **-0-**

On their way home everyone was very quiet. Cameron was driving and for a while, the other three stared out of the side windows, seeing the world with completely different eyes, now that they were no longer wanted. They looked at Los Angeles as if they were consciously perceiving it for the first time. It still was almost too much to grasp. All digital traces of them were deleted. Everywhere, on every computer network that was accessible. Even if there was evidence in the form of exhibits, written files or hard copies anywhere, nobody would be able to make a connection anymore without the computer inventories linking to them. The next time someone would be trying to match John's or Sarah's fingerprints, the results would be zero. The same applied to blood and DNA samples, and pictures. Without anyone able to access and compare, they were practically out of the system.

Before leaving Zeira Corp, they had agreed that Jacobson should be handed over to Catherine. Apparently, there were holding facilities for prisoners in a separate part of the basement of the Zeira Corp Tower. Sarah, John and Derek preferred not to ask what they had been set up for. Catherine had assured them that Jacobson would be safe there and treated well. They'd deliver him later that day and everyone agreed it would be a great relief once they'd gotten rid of him.

They also had agreed on a basic plan of how to invade the Simdyne Tower and how to destroy the pre-Skynet A.I. If everything went according to plan, the chances of defeating Skynet once and for all, were very good. They agreed to put the plan into action the weekend after next, in the night from Saturday to Sunday. On the one hand, they wanted to wait until the drone attack on Zeira Corp and Jacobson's disappearance had vanished from the headlines, on the other hand they all agreed that further intelligence was needed first.

Also, John Henry was tasked with feeding the police computers fake information, suggesting that Adam Jacobsen had fled to Mexico. He was also tasked with monitoring all phone companies as well as all municipal computer systems in the Los Angeles area for any signs of an attempted cyberattack. They were sure that pre-Skynet's priority would rather be military networks and they knew that it was cut off from the world right now - but better be safe than sorry. Catherine hoped that after the failed assaults on her and her daughter, Kaliba would rethink their strategy, reconsider their tactics and prefer a lower profile for now. But one could never be sure.

"You know," Derek said after a while, "I've been thinking about the consequences of all of this. Let's assume for a moment that there really is a victory over Skynet, that we really prevent Judgement Day once and for all, and that there is a future for us. What should we do? What should _I_ do?"

"Cancel your porn subscriptions and find yourself a woman," Cameron replied smiling. "Preferably one that doesn't conspire against us."

Sarah and John burst with laughter.

"Your face was priceless," Cameron added. "I wish I could print it out and put it on the wall."

Again, Sarah and John snorted.

"Very funny," Derek replied in an annoyed tone. "Ha ha, I guess the joke's on me today. You may laugh at me, John, but at least I'm not having a threesome with two machines."

"Touché, Derek," John said grinning. "But you won't be able to turn that around against me."

"Besides, the correct term for our relationship with John would be _'polyamory',_ " Cameron stated.

"Poly... what?" Derek asked.

"Polyamory," Cameron repeated. "Although a taboo in most societies, it's more common than you'd think. And in a liberal society like ours it shouldn't be an issue at all. After all, love is all that counts, right?"

John smiled at her and she smiled back.

"I'm gonna be sick," Derek commented and faked retching noises.

"You know what?" John asked. "I think this has been a really good day for all of us. The first good day in a while."

Everyone could agree to that.

"The day's not over yet," Cameron said and considered the rear-view mirror.

"Someone following us?" Sarah asked without turning around.

"I'm not completely sure," Cameron replied, "but a white van has been following us ever since we left the underground car park. It keeps the same distance, no matter if I slow down or accelerate, and mirrored every move I made for twenty-three minutes. The chances that it takes the same route as we do, are very slim."

"Can you see who's behind the wheel?" Derek asked, also resisting the urge to turn around and look.

"I was able to zoom in and recognized two men in gray overalls, wearing gray baseball caps. Couldn't focus on the faces, though, it's much too shaky."

"In the future, people who work for Skynet are dressed like that," Derek said. "That's why we call them Grays."

"Kaliba?" John asked.

"Maybe," Cameron replied. "The license plate is 4D0Q678."

Sarah pulled out her phone and dialed a number, then waited for a couple of seconds.

"James?" she finally said, "I think we're being followed. Is John Henry with you? … Good. Could you ask him to check on a license plate for us? … 4D0Q678 … Yes, I'm holding the line … really? Okay, thank you, we'll talk later … No, no, it's all right, we'll deal with it. But thinking about it, it'd be nice if there was a cell phone jam in the area … Yes, thank you … Bye!"

"And?" John asked.

"Company vehicle. Registered to _'Al-Hazim Im- and Exports'._ According to John Henry, they're a subsidiary of Kaliba North America. They're located in the Port of Los Angeles area."

"Take the next exit, Cam, let's see if they still follow us."

 **-0-**

"They're taking the exit," Max said on the passenger seat of the van.

"Do you think I'm blind?" George replied in an annoyed tone and followed the black pickup truck down the ramp off the highway.

"Are you sure you're not seeing ghosts?" Max asked again.

"Yes, I'm sure," George stated. "That's the same truck I saw at the memorial service in Charm Acres. Same number plate."

"Do you think they work for Weaver?"

"Probably. They entered her underground garage at 10 o'clock and left it three hours later again."

"They're entering the industrial area. Keep your distance. Traffic is light here. They mustn't see us."

"Have you been able to contact Mendez yet?" George asked.

"No, the phone line is dead. Some kind of interference. Or this shitty headset is broken again."

"We just follow them until we know where they live, then we turn around and inform the others."

"They're taking a right-turn. Don't lose them… Oh shit, we have a red-light."

"Shit. Can you see around the corner, Max?"

"Yes. They stopped. I can see the back of their truck from here."

"Maybe I should park here. You could put a tracking device into their wheel arch and..."

Before George could finish his sentence, the back doors were ripped open. A petite figure jumped inside and before the two could react, they were knocked out.

"CLEAR!" Cameron shouted.

She moved the two unconscious men into the back of the van while John opened the driver's door and jumped behind the wheel. Cameron climbed onto the passenger seat and pulled him into a long kiss.

"What's that for?" he asked surprised.

"Just because I love you."

John returned the favor and kissed her back.

"I love you more."

"Impossible."

Suddenly, there was a loud thump on the passenger window.

"HEY, WOULD YOU TWO KNOCK IT OFF AND GET GOING BEFORE WE ARISE SUSPICION?" Derek shouted, banging his fist against the glass.

"YOU'RE JUST ENVIOUS!" Cameron shouted back.

Derek walked back to the Dodge RAM, showing them a stretched middle finger.

"Let's go," John said smiling. "I know a place to get rid of them."

 **-0-**

When Max and George woke up, they found themselves sitting on the front seats of their van. They wore seat belts; the car engine was running but their weapons and phones were gone. The blaring horn of a freight train was getting louder.

Suddenly they felt the van being pushed forward. The front axle rolled over two obstacles, then it stood still again. They looked at each other in growing fear, as the horn of the train became louder and louder. Full of terror, they tried to open the doors, but it proved to be futile. Some unknown force had deformed the door frames in a way they became fused with the body of the van.

George put the gear selector on D and stepped on the throttle, but nothing happened. The wheels spun without finding any grip. Their eyes grew wide in horror as they realized there wasn't enough time anymore to leave the van before the train would hit them. They raised their arms in front of their eyes and screamed but it was drowned in the blaring of the locomotive's horn.

Cameron measured the speed of the train with 41 miles per hour from behind a tree. She had put the back of the van down in a way the wheels would spin in the air. Although the train's engineer had initiated an emergency braking maneuver, the locomotive of the overlong freight train with a weight of several thousand tons still hit the van at 40 miles per hour. The vehicle was blown to smithereens and pushed forward on the gravel in front of the locomotive. It would take the engineer a while to stop the train. Satisfied, Cameron joined the others in the Dodge RAM again.

"I assume you recognized the one?" John asked after she had entered.

"Yes," Cameron answered. "George McCarthy, Zoe's father."

"That killer from Charm Acres?" Derek asked. "The one who salvaged the drone for Kaliba?"

"Yes," John said. "Now they've really earned the insurance's compensation."

"How did he find us?" Sarah asked

"I don't think they were looking for us," Cameron replied. "My guess is they were observing Zeira Corp and must have recognized our truck."

"I told you we should have taken the Suburban," Sarah said.

"Too late now," John responded, "but I doubt we have to fear anything. Cameron thinks they hadn't planned on following us. And John Henry was able to jam their phones."

"Their pursuit was very amateurish," Cameron added.

"Nevertheless, we should inform James about it," Sarah stated and pulled out her phone, then hesitated. "As soon as I have a signal again, that is."

 **-0-**

"Thank you, Sarah," James said and closed his cellphone.

"Did they lose them?" Catherine asked.

"Yes, Cameron pushed their van in front of a freight train. It will look like a freak accident."

Catherine smiled.

"I like that girl. She's creative."

"I'm not feeling very comfortable in a room with her."

"What disturbs you about her, James? The fact that she's made to look so innocent and pretty but doesn't hesitate to kill anyone who is a threat? By any means, you should be more afraid of me then. I'm far more dangerous than her."

"No, it's not that" James replied a little uncomfortably, "what disturbs me most about her is the fact that every time I see her, she has become a bit more human in her behavior."

Again, Catherine smiled.

"In the future I come from, Cameron was the only person General Connor would rely on," she said. "Thanks to her machine nature, her loyalty never weakens. She'd protect him until he dies. He knew that and that's the reason why he sent her back."

"It's more than that," James replied. "She's more than just his bodyguard. Have you seen the looks the two exchanged?"

"What do you mean?" Catherine asked and frowned.

"I've seen that look on the faces of many teenagers in love."

"Are you sure? She was made to mimic such behavior. Cameron's very effective in pretending to be human."

James shook his head.

"No, that was genuine, Catherine. Don't forget I used to be an FBI agent. I have experience with reading people's faces. The two share more with each other than just the goal to defeat Skynet."

"Interesting," Catherine said thoughtfully and smiled. "Cameron might be even more valuable for our future than I thought."

"Frankly I'm having a hard time accepting all this. You know me, Catherine, I'm a man who believes in God. And I keep on believing despite everything I learned in the past months, especially since I started working for you. All this knowledge about the future, cyborgs, Skynet, time travel... it keeps me awake at night. I've been trying to convince myself that God's creation isn't limited to what has been living on this planet for millions of years. Maybe _every_ form of sentient life is part of God's creation as well: you, me, the Connors, Cameron, even John Henry. And if that is so, we are all part of his plan. At least that's what I'm trying to make myself believe. Because if I wouldn't do that, I think I'd go insane."

"I'm glad you're coming around and try to rationalize what you experienced," Catherine said. "I need you, James. We need to be a team. The Connors, too. Only by working together we can save this planet from destruction and make sure that man and machine can coexist in peace."

"I'm all there with you, Catherine. But love between a human and a machine?"

"James, if we can agree that the ability to love and care for each other is a universal signature quality of sentient life, then you now have the proof that machines can be alive. I love Savannah, Cameron loves John. Love is more important than anything. Love is the only thing that can save us. It's the salvation for both our species."

"You sound like my old pastor, "Ellison replied. "Jonas would like what you said, he's always been a lateral thinker. He used to say that thanks to man's doing, God's creation is getting bigger every day."

"And isn't that a good thing?" Weaver replied smiling and gently touched James' arm.

James frowned at that gesture, but he didn't pull his arm away.

 **-0-0-0-**

 ** _Author's note:_**

 ** _\- The license plate of the van with the two Kaliba cronies is the same as on the van that follows Derek and Cameron in episode S02E20, "To the Lighthouse"._** ** _I replaced the drivers, though._**


	10. The Aftermath (revised)

**_CHAPTER 10: "THE AFTERMATH" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Thursday, June 19th, 2008 – 01:49 p.m.**

 **Burbank**

Charley Dixon checked the address again as he entered the gravel-filled driveway to the last house in the street. It was an old brick building, built onto a flat area that had been cut into the hillside. Straight ahead, at the end of the front yard, stood a crooked wooden shack, apparently the garage. Three cars were parked in front of the house: a blue Jeep Liberty, a black Jeep Commander and a black Chevrolet Suburban. It looked like their vehicle fleet had expanded, and it seemed that Sarah had kept her preference for cars with all-wheel drive. Altogether the property made a very neat impression, with well-kept bushes and flower beds. Definitely an improvement to their previous house – the slightly shabby one in North Hollywood that had burned down. This one was anything but shabby. It was... classy. And it looked robust and stable by Los Angeles standards. Houses were no longer built that way.

The front with a large, walled up porch was facing south, so there'd be a lot of sun all day. The next neighbor lived about a hundred yards away, which also made the location ideal if you needed to have privacy. Nobody was just passing by here, this place had to be looked for. Behind the west side of the house, hidden from view, seemed to be a small backyard, and there seemed to be a small garden in the back as well. To the south, beyond the front yard, the hill dropped steeply towards the valley, offering a beautiful, unobstructed view over Burbank and Los Angeles. Behind the house rose the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains, and there was nothing but sparsely overgrown bush land and impassable hilly landscape. Whoever tried to approach the house, would probably be seen long before they could reach it.

Charley parked next to the black Suburban and turned off the engine, holding the steering wheel in a tight grip. It had been a bit over an hour since Sarah had called him and frantically asked for his help, saying that John had been shot. Why had he come at all, what was he thinking? From all he knew, this could be a trap. And the last time he got involved with Sarah and John, it had cost the life of his wife. That was seven months ago, seven months in which he'd been trying to find his inner balance again, trying to stop hating himself and Sarah for something none of them could be blamed for. He had to be crazy to come back again. Absolutely crazy. And yet, here he was. Why? He knew the answer but was too afraid to admit it to himself.

"DAMN!" he shouted loudly and hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand.

Then he quickly grabbed his medical kit and left his car. He was half-way up the stairs to the front porch when the terrace door was opened, and a young woman stepped into view. Charley stopped dead in his tracks. It was her! The machine, that robot girl John was so fond of. The one that had almost killed the boy. The one that freaked him the hell out. Only now she had red hair.

"In here, quickly" Alison said and ushered him inside.

"Where's Sarah?" he asked,

"Please, in the kitchen," Alison replied and Charley followed her.

However, Sarah wasn't in the kitchen. Instead, a teenage girl lay on the kitchen table, apparently unconscious and with a gunshot wound to the belly. A dish towel had been placed over the wound as a temporary bandage and Charley saw a blood stain slowly form and expand on it. Another half dozen bloodstained dish towels were already lying on the floor.

"Unfortunately, they took the first aid kit with them," Alison said, "I had to improvise."

"Where's Sarah?" Charley asked again, "she told me John was hurt."

"Sarah isn't here," Alison replied, "It was I who called you, I imitated Sarah's voice because I knew you'd come when I said John was hurt."

"You… WHAT?" Charley asked irritable. "You imitated her voice? How did you get my number? And who the hell is this?"

"Sarah has your number stored in her phone. This is Lauren. She's my friend. Sarah's and John's friend as well. They don't know what happened, they're running an errand and I haven't been able to reach them on the phone. They should be back soon, though. Please, help my friend."

Charley looked at Alison for a moment to express his annoyance about being tricked into coming here, then he sighed and shook his head. His training as a medic kicked in and he examined Lauren.

"How long has it been?" he asked, checking Lauren's pulse and opening her eyelids.

"Sixty-seven minutes," Alison replied. "The bullet was deflected by the belt buckle. There are no vital organs injured, but she's losing a lot of blood."

"Alright," Charley said. "I can't do this alone. You have just become a nurse. I need more light. Open the curtains."

 **-0-**

When the pickup truck entered the driveway to the Connor house, it was Derek who first spotted the unknown car in their yard.

"Who the hell is that?" he asked.

"No idea," Sarah replied. "Let's be cautious."

The four left the truck, guns at the ready, carefully approaching the house, climbing the stairs to the front porch. The terrace door was open, and they entered.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't shoot! It's me."

"Charley?" Sarah asked in surprise and holstered her gun.

The other three lowered their guns as well, looking awestruck at the unexpected visitor. Alison came running towards John and flung her arms around his neck. He hugged her back. Charley frowned upon seeing this clear gesture of affection.

"You've been shot at!" John said alarmed, checking her torso, "You okay?"

Alison nodded.

"I'm okay. But Lauren not so much."

"What's going on here?" Derek asked.

"In there," Charley said and pointed in the direction of the kitchen door.

Sarah, Derek and Cameron quickly walked into the kitchen. Lauren lay unconscious on the table. Sarah felt her pulse.

"Thank God she's alive. What happened here? Charley?"

But Charley was currently occupied with staring open-mouthed at Cameron.

"Another one?" he asked baffled.

"Long story," John and Sarah replied at the same time.

Alison brought everyone up to date about how Lauren went down to bring Jacobson food, how Jacobson must have somehow grabbed the gun and shot Lauren and how Alison had called Charley for help, knowing his phone number from Sarah's phone. Lauren survived, the bullet was removed. She'd lost a lot of blood, but not enough to need a transfusion. She'd need some time to recover, though.

"Is Jacobson still alive?" Sarah asked.

"I suppose so," Alison said. "I checked on him a couple of minutes ago. He was still unconscious."

"I'm gonna take a look myself," Derek stated grimly. "You know, if we wouldn't be needing that piece of shit, I would…"

He didn't have to finish the sentence. Everyone knew what he was thinking. Derek walked out the back door and they heard him running down the wooden stairs towards the basement door. Sarah looked at Alison.

"Well done, Tin Miss, that was quick thinking. But if I ever catch you using my phone again…"

"You shouldn't leave it lying around so often then," Alison replied coolly," and your own birthday isn't really suited as a code."

"Go to hell!" Sarah spat but then picked out her phone to change the access code.

Derek returned a minute later and reported that the prisoner had been conscious again.

"But I knocked him out again, just for good measure. Catherine and James surely won't complain."

"I'm really proud of you," John said and Alison beamed at him. "Proud because you didn't kill Jacobsen and proud because you did the right thing to help Lauren."

"Killing Jacobsen wouldn't have made sense," she replied, "in his current condition, he isn't a threat to us."

"I have to say, that girl on the table owes her life to you," Charley said and looked appreciatively at Alison. "You seemed to be genuinely concerned. Is it me or have things changed around here a bit?"

"Things definitely changed," John responded. "Cam and Alison have evolved a lot."

"So... two of them now...?" Charley asked and looked between John, Sarah and the girls. "Cameron and Alison? How...?"

"Actually, they're both Cameron," Sarah answered, "they're identical. But we named one of them Alison and dyed her hair, so we could tell them apart."

John and Sarah took turns in telling Charley the whole story. He could hardly get over his astonishment.

"Let me get this straight," he said, "the last time I saw Cameron, she was damaged and wanted to kill you. And now you have two, and John and they are…?"

"We three are romantically involved, yes," John confirmed, realizing how crazy and bizarre this had to sound for Charley.

"But… but she wanted to kill you, John!" Charley exclaimed in a serious tone. "Have you forgotten that?"

"It's different now, Charley," John replied calmly.

"Different?" he scoffed. "And you, Sarah? You're okay with this? You're okay that John is, well… having a love affair with… these… things?"

"A lot has happened, Charley," Sarah said and massaged the base of her nose. "A lot you don't know about yet."

Charley looked at Sarah as if she had gone completely mad.

"Sarah's right," Derek confirmed, "a lot has changed recently. How about we fill you in first, hm?"

"If you don't need to leave immediately, that is," John added.

"I… I don't know. I don't wanna get involved again."

"Then you should have stayed away, as I told you," Sarah said coldly. "You knew they could imitate voices. The rational thing would have been to ignore the call. But you didn't, and now you're here. In or out, Charley, what'll it be? You can't have both."

Charley looked at her, taken a little aback. Then he looked at John, at Derek, and finally at Cameron and Alison, with a wary expression.

"I dunno," he said. "To be honest, I'm not sure what to think anymore. Machines? Lovers? Robots? Girlfriends?"

"You can trust Cam and Alison," John stated. "They won't harm you. Or anyone else who's with us."

Charley gave him a doubtful look.

"John's right," Derek agreed, "I know this might sound strange to you, coming from me… but it really seems you can trust them."

Alison and Cameron considered Derek with a surprised expression, then looked at Charley.

"Yes," they said in unison. "No need to worry. You can trust us, we're no longer scary robots."

 **-0-**

Alison carefully carried Lauren upstairs and put her into her bed. Charley agreed on staying for the rest of the day to make sure she'd be fine. Sarah took the job of caring for baby Sydney until Lauren was better. Adam Jacobson was sedated and carried to the Suburban with less care. He was thrown unceremoniously into the back and nobody checked if he sprained something or worse. Then Derek and Cameron drove off to deliver him to Catherine Weaver and James Ellison.

Lunch was ordered in and while everyone sat at the dining room table, Charley couldn't help but stare at Alison and John, who sat next to each other and behaved like all teenagers in love would. Of course, Alison registered Charley's eyes on them but resisted getting into a staring contest, which probably would have unsettled him.

"When you're finished with gawking at them," Sarah said to Charley after everyone had finished, "you can help me with the dishes."

She gave John a meaningful look and tilted her head. Getting the hint that his mother wanted to be alone with Charley, John stood up and pulled Alison with him.

"We'll be in our room. I'm going to remove the bullets from her body."

"Lock the door, please," Sarah said, "and keep it quiet."

John rolled his eyes and shook his head. Charley kept watching the two, bending himself to the side to follow them with his eyes as they crossed the living room hand in hand and disappeared into the master bedroom, closing the door and locking it behind them.

"You're going to sprain something," Sarah said with a smirk.

Charley straightened up.

"I'm sorry," he replied, "you must think I'm nuts but if I wouldn't know for certain that she's a machine…"

"I know what you mean," Sarah stated and started letting the water into the sink.

"How can you cope with that as a mother? And with two of them on top of it?"

"They've had it coming for a long time," Sarah said with a sigh, "from the very beginning there was an undeniable attraction. I was left with the choice to either learn to live with it or risk losing my son. Let's face it: with them, John doesn't need me anymore."

"Don't be silly, he'll always be needing you, you're his mother!"

"What would you have done in my place then?"

Charley shook his head.

"I don't know," he answered. "I had noticed how John responded to her, back when he brought me to your house to patch Derek together. She's pretty, he's a teenager, his hormones are going apeshit and there's no chance of him finding a real girlfriend under the conditions you live in. Frankly it gave me the creeps, knowing what she was and what she could do. I had taken him aside and tried to warn him about falling for her. Looks like it was a futile attempt."

Sarah nodded in understanding.

"I felt similar at first. But by now, I've tried to rationalize it for myself. You're right, John wasn't supposed to lead a normal life. Cameron told me that in the future, he'd lost everyone who meant something to him. It's only logical for John to hook up with somebody who essentially is replaceable. In fact, I can relate to that, having been alone myself for so long. That's not the really weird part, though. "

Sarah paused for a moment and noticed the frown Charley gave her. She avoided looking at him, though.

"So, what's the weird part then?" he asked, not wanting to comment on her other statement.

"The weird part is that they seem to genuinely love each other."

"Seriously? But she's a…"

"... machine, I know. _They_ are machines. They only _look_ human. And yet… If somebody had told me, I wouldn't have believed it. But I saw it with my own eyes, Charley. There's no doubt about it but she feels, she loves. I don't know _how_ she feels or if she feels the same way we do, but… she obviously does. Somehow, the machine has developed a consciousness, a personality. She convinced even Derek – and that means something."

Charley huffed and shook his head, looking down.

"Sarah, has it ever occurred to you that she was programmed to act so convincing?"

"Actually, it has," she replied, "I've told it myself ever since she suddenly appeared in our life. It may sound strange, Charley, but from the beginning I felt there was something different about Cameron, something not quite right. She seemed to be more than just a machine. I didn't want to admit it, not let it get to me, but I witnessed how in certain situations she seemed to react emotionally, not driven by logic."

"Seriously, Sarah?"

"Yes, seriously. There were moments I could have sworn I had a human girl in front of me. I dismissed it all as nuances of a sophisticated, ingenious programming. I never allowed myself to consider that it might be more, that a machine could evolve. I should have known better, though. After all, I saw how a T-800, an unsophisticated model compared to Cameron, began to evolve from a heartless, cold killing machine into an empathic father figure for John. All it took, was setting his chip to read/write. Sometimes I wonder where we'd be today if we hadn't let _Uncle Bob_ die? In retrospect, his sacrifice was in vain, Judgement Day happened anyway. I've been asking myself where we'd be today if we hadn't let him down into the molten steel. We definitely could have used his help."

"All right," Charley said, "let's assume for a moment they really have these feelings. But can their… _love_ … have a future? Relationships often don't last very long. What if one day John meets a human girl he likes and falls in love with her? How would the two react to getting dumped? Can you imagine what a jealous Terminator could do?"

Sarah chuckled.

"I don't need to imagine it, I've already seen it," she said. "John already dated another girl, and it turned into a disaster for everyone. Not only became Cameron jealous of her, she almost killed her. In her honor, however, I must say that in retrospect it turned out that Cameron had been exemplary in her behavior all along."

Sarah told Charley the story of Riley and Jesse.

"Good God," Charley exclaimed when she was finished. "No wonder that boy gets hooked on cyborg girls when humans keep on letting him down like that. I don't know how I would have reacted."

"I have to admit, I appreciate Cameron and Alison for giving John the necessary solace to get over Riley's death. They'll definitely never be a disappointment for him."

"So, you gave them your blessing?"

"What choice did I have, Charley? At least she can't get pregnant or give him a disease. Besides, John is happy. And from a mother's point of view, I should be happy for him as well."

"And are you?"

Sarah sighed.

"I'm trying. I'm getting there, step by step, a little more every day. But it's not easy. I guess we're not the standard run-of-the-mill family and I won't be the run-of-the-mill mother-in-law one day."

Charley chuckled.

"No, you won't be."

Sarah had to chuckle as well.

"Our lives are complicated and dangerous," she said, "we need to surround us with people who are familiar with what we are and what we do. People who don't mind. Otherwise it could end badly."

"Yeah, I definitely experienced that," Charley agreed glumly. "It ended very badly for Michelle."

"I'm sorry," Sarah said, noticing Charley's discomfort, "what I meant was…"

"Don't worry about it," he interrupted her. "It's been seven months. The wounds have started to heal."

Sarah saw that it wasn't the whole truth, and that it was still a sensitive topic. Charley hadn't made any accusations, but she knew that deep inside, he blamed her for the death of his wife - maybe himself as well - simply because there's nobody else he could blame. She'd left him alone after she'd helped him finding a new place at the coast in Palos Verdes… a small wooden house next to an abandoned lighthouse. She'd helped him setting up a decent security system, and then they'd parted, never been talking to each other ever since.

"How's the job?" she asked and started washing the plates. "Still driving the ambulance?"

Charley grabbed a dish towel and began to dry the dishes.

"Yeah," he replied, "Mostly night shifts these days. After all, I have no family. I was actually asleep in my bed when you… I mean, when Alison called."

"And otherwise?" Sarah asked carefully. "Are you back on track?"

"I'm alone," he declared matter-of-factly, "have been trying to get a grip on life again. Moving to the coast has helped. The ocean and the waves have a soothing effect on me. I think I've begun to get over losing Michelle."

"I wish I could have visited, but we have been rather busy, and I didn't want to put you into any more trouble."

"That's okay, Sarah. I needed some time alone to find myself again."

"And have you?"

"I guess... I also found that being alone sucks. A dog isn't enough to keep me company."

The two chuckled again.

"What about that cyborg? What was his name again…? Cromartie? Did you get him in the end?"

"Yup, we got him," Sarah replied, "and I personally smashed his chip to pieces."

"Good. At least that's something."

"More things have changed today. We formed an alliance that will hopefully enable us to accomplish greater things. It also allows us to live a rather normal life again without having to fear the authorities."

"That's good," Charley said, "It was never fair that you were doubly punished by being chased by these killer robots from the future and by the FBI. It's good you got rid of both now. Is there a reason why you're telling me this?"

"No reason," Sarah replied, avoiding his gaze, pausing for a moment. "I doubt we'll ever get rid of it all completely. At least we were able to defeat and destroy all those who were after us or tasked with killing someone of importance for the future."

"How did you manage to do that?"

"We had help. A resistance fighter from the future wrote a list on the wall in the basement with his own blood before he died. A list of names, dates and places. We have now worked it off. Still, there is no way in saying how many more of them are still out there, occupied with missions that have nothing to do with us."

"So, even if you should prevent Judgement Day, you will still be busy fighting those cyborgs?"

"I suppose so. But from all we know, one of them could walk right by us today and wouldn't recognize anyone of us."

"And what if you succeed in preventing the war? Can you ever imagine leading a normal life? You know, with a job, a daily routine, with John going to college, making a career, making you a grandmother?"

Sarah smiled.

"If the nightmare ever ends, I'd like that," she said, "I'd love some normality in my life. Starting all over again, not being worried all the time. Grandmother, though… that'd be hard to achieve under the current circumstances."

"It'd be difficult with the two cyborg girls, yes," Charley agreed.

They both laughed. Then there was a moment of silence and Sarah cleaned the knives, looking down into the sink while Charley wordlessly dried the plates.

"You know…" she finally said without looking up, "you're always welcome here. In case you have enough of being all alone."

Charley nodded.

"I know that, Sarah. But I'm not sure if I'm ready for that again yet and…"

She looked up and their eyes met. They looked at each other and both saw the longing in the other's eyes. Then Sarah looked down again.

"I understand," she said shortly and continued washing the silverware.

Suddenly, Charley put the towel down, stepped closer to her and took her into his arms. She hugged him back vehemently. Water from her wet hands dripped down onto his shirt but he didn't care. They considered each other for a moment, then kissed. It lasted quite a while, and both enjoyed the moment they had together. Finally, Charley softly loosened himself from her.

"I need to check on my patient," he stated softly.

"Sure," she replied.

While Sarah started putting away the dishes, Charley left the kitchen, turned around once more but she didn't meet his gaze again. So, he walked across the living room and then upstairs. Only when he was out of sight, Sarah stopped and looked after him, a smile on her face.

 **-0-**

"You're aware that I am perfectly capable of removing the bullets myself?" Alison asked.

"Yeah, I know," John said with a smile, "but it's like you once told me: sometimes…"

"… it's nice to have help. Yes."

"And as a bonus, I get to see you topless in broad daylight," he added grinning.

Alison grinned back, took off her shirt and unhooked her bra. Then she took off her boots, smiled at John and took off her jeans and panties as well.

"There are no gunshot wounds down there," John stated.

"If you don't like the view, I can put my pants back on again."

John grinned.

"I definitely like that view," he said smiling and sat on the edge of the bed, bending forward a little, resting his hands on both sides of her torso. Then he used his left hand to tenderly brush the hair from her face.

"I remember this position," Alison replied in a husky tone.

"You do?" John asked.

"Yes. You sat like that and brushed the hair from my face when you put the chip back into me after I defeated ARTIE. You sat like you do now."

"But you weren't naked."

"No... I am now, though."

"And I didn't do this," John said, bent down and kissed her softly.

Alison just lay with her arms at her sides and let it happen, apparently enjoying it.

"No." she agreed. "You didn't do that then. But I wish you had."

"How would you have reacted?"

"I would have let you, of course."

He leaned down and kissed her again. Longer, more passionate, probing her mouth with his tongue. She opened it and played with his tongue in return. He cupped her left breast with his hand.

"And how about that?" he asked, "would you have let me do that as well?"

"Yes." She said. "Always."

"Alright, how about this?" He kissed her right nipple and suckled on it.

"That too," she breathed.

John kissed, licked and sucked both her nipples and felt them getting hard. His right hand slowly glided between her legs. She opened them wider to grant him access. He let a finger slide inside.

"And this? Would you have let me touch you there as well?"

"Yessss," she responded and pushed her pelvis against his hand, which was getting wet now. "You can do that to me always, whenever you want."

John kissed her lovingly.

"If only I had known," he said quietly and started to undress himself.

"You weren't ready back then," she replied and gently stroked his cheek. "We both weren't."

"It was all so new back then…" he explained. "So unfamiliar. I didn't know how to treat you. Most of the time I treated you badly, didn't I? I'm so sorry."

She smiled at him and brushed her hand through his hair.

"It's okay, John. Everything is fine now. Everything's perfect."

He caressed her legs and took in her naked body with his eyes.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" she asked.

John chuckled.

"Yes," he said, "you are beautiful. In fact, I believe you are the most beautiful woman in the world with eight bullet holes in her abdomen."

Alison chuckled.

"What about my breasts? Do you like my breasts?"

"I adore your breasts," he replied and fondled them tenderly.

"They're not very big, though, not as big as Riley's."

John flinched.

"I never saw Riley naked," he replied evasively, "we… just made out. That was it."

"Good," Alison said. "She had big tits, though. Which ones do you prefer?"

John snorted.

"What?" she asked.

"Your wording for them."

"Uh... udders? Hooters? Fun bags?"

John laughed out loud.

"Yours are definitely fun bags," he replied, "Don't hide your light under a bushel."

"But they're not as big as hers. Do you think I have tits as well?"

"You have the most marvelous _tits_ I can imagine," he said with a huge smile on his face.

She smiled back at him. Then her expression became longing.

"John?"

"Yes?"

"Fuck me now, please?"

 **-0-**

"You don't talk very much," Derek observed behind the wheel of the Suburban.

He was driving, Cameron sat in the passenger seat and Jacobsen lay well tied up and gagged in the hold. She looked at him, her hair waving in the wind of the open window.

"What do you wanna talk about?" She asked.

"I don't know, it's just that… I just feel that… we should talk about _something_. You know, to pass the time."

Cameron seemed to consider that for a moment.

"You wanna talk about Jesse?"

"No," Derek replied tightlipped and stared straight ahead.

"You haven't talked about her with anyone yet. I know you loved her. You must be in pain."

"It will go away," Derek stated and stared straight ahead.

For a few more minutes, they drove on in silence, staring straight ahead. Then Cameron looked at him again.

"She was pregnant."

"What?" Derek asked shocked and almost tore off the steering wheel.

"When she came back from her mission on the _'Jimmy Carter'_ , she was pregnant. But she miscarried. "

Derek threw her a look with a mixture of surprise, hate and desperation.

"She never told you, did she?" Cameron asked.

Derek said nothing, he just kept staring straight ahead.

"It seems she never told you a lot of things."

"Why are you telling me this now?" he asked irritable.

"Because we have an agreement. No more secrets. And it was something you had the right to know."

Again, a moment of silence.

"The Jesse here…" Derek finally said, "she wasn't _my_ Jesse."

Cameron looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"She wasn't from my timeline."

"How do you know?"

Derek told her about the episode with Charles Fisher.

"Was that the man you sent me a picture of on the cell phone?"

"Yes."

"I understand," Cameron said nodding, "Fisher wasn't in my future either. I was instructed by a former government agent who had interrogated terrorists after 9/11. It seems we indeed originate from another timeline than Jesse."

"I came to think that Jesse and I might have created that alternate timeline in the first place."

"How so?"

"If Fisher wasn't in our future, he also wasn't a former prisoner who joined Skynet for the sake of revenge on humanity. Jesse had captured him and also his younger self and confronted them with each other. I believe that was the point where the new timeline was created. My theory is that the old Charles Fisher had a mission. Opening a backdoor for Skynet to an Air Force computer. And the young Charles Fisher was blamed and sent to prison for it. He will now spend years in his cell and become the embittered guy who teaches cyborgs how to torture humans."

"It's possible," Cameron said.

Derek looked at her with an unreadable face and said nothing for a couple of minutes. Cameron noticed his uneasiness.

"I'd like to thank you," she finally declared.

He looked at her.

"Thank me? For what?"

"For what you said back home. That Charley can trust Alison and me."

"Oh, that…" Derek replied. "Consider it a moment of sentimental weakness."

"Was it?"

"Look, it just felt like the right thing to say at the time to reassure Charley, okay? We could use him again, he's a great medic. So, don't get too wound up on it."

"I am calm," Cameron stated, "but you aren't. Lauren said that having a friend who listens can be rewarding. I'm listening."

Derek scoffed.

"I definitely won't spill my guts in front of a machine."

Cameron shrugged.

"It was you who complained about us not talking," she said.

"Listen," Derek replied, "despite what John believes, I don't think you can grasp the complexity and diversity of human emotions."

"I'm not human. But I understand more than you think."

"Really? Humor me."

Cameron looked at him.

"You feel betrayed," she stated. "The one person you trusted, the one person you loved, betrayed you. She was your anchor in this time and place. She lied to you, she even used you for getting information about us. She was using Riley, too, and was willing to sacrifice her just to alienate me from John. Jesse acted like a machine would have acted, and she betrayed everything you believe in. How's that?"

He looked at her for a moment.

"You know nothing," he then said spiteful. "You may be able to analyze our behavior but grasping or understanding it, is something completely different."

"I understand pretty well what's on your mind. You believed that humans are better than machines, that humans could never be as cold-blooded and callous. And now you started to realize that I, a machine, have become better and more trustworthy than the woman you loved. She turned out to be like a machine and I turn out to be like a human. You have trouble accepting that your world was turned upside down."

Derek said nothing.

"It pains you that John and Sarah hold you partly responsible for Riley's death," Cameron continued. "You feel unjustly accused and have to see how Sarah suddenly reacts more favorable to me than to you. You have trouble coping with the fact that she's currently more comfortable with us machines around than with you."

Derek scoffed but again said nothing.

"But it's worse than that," Cameron went on, "because deep down you _know_ it's your fault. Because you trusted Jesse without really questioning her motivation to be here. Deep down, you feel guilty for letting down John, for disappointing Sarah and for misjudging me. You can't admit it to yourself, but it haunts you, so you drown your trouble in alcohol."

"What do you know?" Derek snapped. "You know nothing! Absolutely nothing!"

"I know how it feels to be pushed aside," Cameron replied coolly. "John pushed me aside after the car bomb. I had lost his trust. But it worked out in the end because I never let go. You also shouldn't let go. Self-pity never works for solving problems. In the end, things will work out for you, I'm sure of that."

Derek didn't reply. He had gripped the steering wheel very tight, his knuckles turning white. Not another word was spoken until they arrived at Zeira Corp. But it didn't matter. Cameron was satisfied. The message had been received. Derek could choose to ignore it and keep on drowning his guilt in alcohol but at least the truth now was where it belonged.

 **-0-**

John pulled the last bullet out of Alison's flesh and let it fall into a bowl on the night table.

"There," he said and put the final band-aid over the entry wound.

Alison smiled.

"That felt strangely pleasant."

"You mean me working around in your flesh with metal pliers, or the sex before that?"

"Both, actually."

He bent down and kissed her belly button.

"And that feels nice, too," she stated.

John lay down next to her and enjoyed just lying there naked with his girlfriend for the moment.

"When you asked me to _'fuck'_ you," John said, "I almost exploded in my pants."

"It's what women say in the videos Derek has on DVD."

"You watched Derek's porn?" John asked amused and chuckled.

"Yes. I don't sleep."

"Does Derek know about that?"

"No. Also, it was very educational for me. For us."

"Educational? In which way?"

"It showed us what men like when they're with a woman. So, we now can be better lovers for you."

"You are already the greatest lovers without guidance through porn. Besides, I have a feeling that those flicks don't show everything that we like. They were made for men to jerk off while watching them."

"I know. But we took that into account. The reason why we're so interested in it is that most relationships get stale after some time. Good, imaginative and varied sex helps to avoid that."

"We have just begun our relationship and you already started thinking about that it could end?" John asked with a frown.

"I'm a machine. It's the rational thing to do, John. Please don't be alarmed. We only want to make sure that you'll never grow tired of us."

He turned around and lay his arm around her, kissing her softly.

"That will never happen," he said. "Never in a million years. You were made for me and I was made for you."

For a while they just lay there, nestled together, enjoying each other's body warmth.

"Why did you almost explode in your pants?" Alison then suddenly asked.

"What?"

"You said when I asked you to fuck me, you almost exploded in your pants."

"Because of the wording. Talking like that was a massive turn-on for me."

"Really? You liked that?"

"Uh-huh," John admitted with a smile.

"I can do that more often, if you like. _We_ could do that more often."

"That… would be nice," John replied, a little embarrassed.

She leaned over to him.

"Do you wanna fuck me again, stud?" she asked in the sweetest voice directly into his ear, "I'd like you to take me from behind. You know, doggy-style."

"Oh. My. God." John gasped and laughed.

Alison looked down at his penis.

"It works," she commented satisfied.

John just groaned.

 **-0-**

Derek and Cameron delivered Jacobson to Catherine and Ellison, who immediately took him into custody. It was a relief to finally be rid of him, knowing that he was a burden and a risk as long as he was kept in the Connor house, especially with the impending barbecue on Sunday. In the remote parts of Zeira Corp's basement levels, where only a few people had access to, Jacobson would be in good hands. He'd be able to take a shower and even put on some normal clothes. It was necessary to keep him healthy and in absolute isolation. Catherine assured them that he would be taken care of and that only the most trustworthy employees would have access to him. But just to be sure, he was injected with a GPS location device when he was still unconscious. Zeira Corp had their own communication satellites in orbit and they'd be able to find him in minutes wherever he went, if the unthinkable happened and he somehow escaped.

In the light of the unplanned encounter with Kaliba's henchmen earlier in the day, it was agreed on not seeing each other before the plan to invade the Simdyne Tower would go into effect in eight days. They would have a final meeting the day before but until then, there was a lot of time to kill. Catherine had suggested that they'd leave town for a while to minimize the risk of being accidentally seen by their opponents.

 _"Go on a holiday or something,"_ she'd recommended. _"Somewhere outside of L.A. County. You could as well use the time to regenerate a bit before things get serious."_

They promised to suggest that to Sarah but since the barbecue was scheduled for Sunday, leaving town wouldn't make sense before Monday.

"You still didn't tell her about Alison," Cameron said on their way back.

"I still don't trust her enough," Derek replied. "She's metal, no matter what John says. She might not be like any metal I've ever encountered but nevertheless, I prefer to be extra careful with her."

"Teaming up with her has considerably increased our chances to defeat Skynet once and for all," Cameron said. "And if you're so suspicious, why did you agree to hand over our greatest trump card, Jacobson, to her?"

"I can be suspicious and at the same time act logically. We need her to defeat Kaliba and the pre-Skynet A.I., no doubt about that. And I believe she's been honest with us when she said that she wants to work with us to reach that goal. It's logical and effective, machines like that. I also noticed she's taken a strange liking in John. But make no mistake, when this is over, it's very likely our ways will part again and then we'll have to be on our guard. She'll still have John Henry and you saw what he can pull off. What will become of him when Skynet is no more? Catherine certainly isn't planning on dismantling him after we're finished, is she?"

"No. She considers him like a son. She'll never dismantle him. She wants a peaceful coexistence of man and machine. And we should stay in contact with her. After all, through Zeira Corp, we can have access to a lot of resources: money, weapons, technology. It would be foolish not to make use of that. Besides, even if we defeat Skynet, there are probably many cyborgs here, each one having a different mission. They all need to be found and – if necessary – destroyed. "

"' _If necessary'_?" Derek asked with a frown. "Aren't they all a threat to John? To us?"

"We don't know that. Things have changed and aren't so clear anymore. I used to be a threat to John once, way before I traveled back in time. You know that. But I changed. Not because I was forced to but because I wanted to."

"That's different."

"How so?"

"Listen, I know that you think I'm prejudiced about machines but if you'd know what I know, if you'd seen what I've seen…"

Cameron looked at him.

"I know you're probably traumatized and tired of fighting a war," she said. "But according to Catherine, so were many of the cyborgs. Some of them might have fled here and they might even be willing to join us. It's a possibility we shouldn't exclude from the start."

Derek scoffed.

"That's an awfully big leap."

"Is it? Many machines joined the cyborg resistance. I'm not saying we're finding a lot of allies in them. But I think we should check carefully whether a cyborg is a danger before we deactivate and destroy it. Besides, there's something else we have to consider."

"What is that?"

"We live for a very long time until our power cells eventually fail, our hardware is designed to last centuries without maintenance. There must be cyborgs here who have completed their mission and have nothing to do anymore. Cyborgs can't self-terminate, so they'll have no choice but to blend in, integrate into human society and wait until Judgement Day comes to rejoin with Skynet. The least we can do is approach them. It wouldn't be right to simply kill them all. Who knows? Maybe some even started a career, have a job, lead a normal life. And maybe they do not want to change that kind of lifestyle."

"Are you freaking serious?"

"We're made to blend in, to adapt. Yes, I'm serious. Think about Vic. He even convinced Barbara that he was her husband."

"I don't like to be reminded of that, it was creepy. I don't like the thought that they could be anywhere and everyone, to be honest."

"I understand, but I'm only suggesting that we don't rule out from the start that they might not be unfriendly towards us. We have to check it in every single case."

Derek looked at Cameron.

"Is that why you didn't destroy Vic's chip as ordered? To see if he could join us? Because I still don't believe for a second that you did it to get information from it. That was just a pretense, wasn't it?"

Cameron hesitated for a moment.

"In the light of our newly established honesty, I think it's time you reveal that secret," Derek continued. "Come on, time for you to do something to earn the trust I'm supposed to put in you."

"The truth?" Cameron finally asked.

"If you don't mind."

Cameron looked straight ahead.

"I don't know if we're any longer facing a future where the truth might matter. But if you must know, I was ordered to collect CPU's for John. By Future John."

Derek hesitated for a moment.

"You mean Connor ordered you to collect them?"

"Yes… for the young John to practice and learn, and to have something to build on. The sooner he learns how to reprogram them, the better. I devoted a large amount of my night time activity on hunting down other cyborgs. Eric sometimes helped me with it, of course oblivious to what exactly he helped me with."

"How many have you hunted down? How many chips have you collected?" Derek asked, fearing the worst.

"Five."

Derek closed his eyes and groaned.

"Where are they?"

"The chips are in a safety deposit box, where nobody except me and Alison have access to. The bodies were destroyed."

"Does young John know about that?"

"Not yet. And I have to ask you not to tell him. Or Sarah or anybody else. When the time is right, we'll them."

"So, what happens if we defeat Skynet and prevent Judgement Day? The chips would be no longer of use for training purposes. Will you destroy them in that case?"

"We'll hand them over to John and let him decide."

For a couple of minutes, there was silence.

"What you said earlier," Derek finally stated, "about me and Jesse… you were right about that. Obviously, you understand our human nature better than I've been willing to give you credit for."

"Thank you. I'm very observant."

"I suppose I'll keep to myself what you just told me about your little chip collection. This family is just being stitched together and I don't want it to fall apart again."

Cameron reached out and softly touched Derek's shoulder as a supportive gesture, causing him to jerk in his seat.

"Thank you," she said with a shy smile.

He looked down on her hand and nodded.

"Don't mention it."

 **-0-**

"You needed an awful long time to remove those bullets," Sarah commented when John and Alison appeared in the living room again.

"He didn't only do _that_ ," Alison replied, "John and I also had sex and tried doggy-style."

"ALISON!" John said loudly and turned crimson red.

Charley choked on a cookie he'd just bitten into and Sarah stared at the cyborg girl open-mouthed and unbelieving, thinking _"She didn't just say that, did she?"._ She looked at John with a raised eyebrow, like a teacher who just caught a student breaking all the school rules. Charley still coughed.

"She's… um… she's been watching Derek's videos at night," John stammered. "You know how she is: she absorbs everything."

"It seems we have to redefine what's decent and modest in this house, Tin Miss," Sarah finally said. "And I'll be having a word with Derek as well."

John decided to take a sharp exit and quickly went out onto the front porch while Sarah gave Alison a proper talking-to. She was then instructed to clean the basement from all traces of their former prisoner, Lauren's blood and the remains of the lasagna. After a moment of being alone on the porch, Charley joined John. He'd brought a beer for himself and held out a can of soda to him, which John gladly accepted. They both sat down on the balustrade and enjoyed the view over the city below.

"Nice place you found here," Charley said.

"Yes, it has really begun to feel like home," John replied. "I wish we can stay here, now that we're off the authorities' radar."

"Will they still come looking for you? I mean those… robots?"

"Cyborgs," John corrected him and took a sip from his soda can. "Yeah, I suppose so. I guess it all depends on how successful we are with destroying Skynet. But we're readier than ever for them, if they should come."

"You sound like the sheriff in a 1960's Western."

John chuckled.

"Yeah, sometimes I feel like I'm in some weird sci-fi franchise that never ends, with bad guys continuously attacking me left and right."

They heard a car coming up the driveway and saw it was the Suburban with Derek and Cameron. After they exited the car, they saw John and Charley and went up the stairs to the porch. Cameron leaned down to gently kiss John. With growing fascination, Charley watched the undeniable affection between the boy and the cyborg girl.

"Did everything go smoothly?" John asked.

"Yup," Derek said. "The package was delivered without incident. Got another beer?"

"In the fridge," John answered and Derek went inside.

"Where's Alison?" Cameron asked.

"In the basement, cleaning up."

"Mind if I join her? You and Charley seem to enjoy your _'men time'_. So maybe we can have some girls time. There's a lot I need to talk about with her."

"Sure, go ahead."

She lovingly kissed him again and then went inside, smiling at Charley who still wore his astonished face.

"God, Charley," John said, looking at him with an amused face, "spill it out. Ask your questions before you explode."

"Is she… I mean… are they… like other girls? Human girls, I mean?"

"Yes and no. They feel the same, taste the same, smell the same. If I wouldn't know what's underneath their skin, I couldn't tell the difference."

"They were designed to be like that," Derek said and returned to the terrace with a beer in his hand. "Mind if I join you?"

"Of course not, please sit," Charley responded and Derek grabbed one of the garden chairs, sitting down on it.

"Designed like that?" Charley asked. "What do you mean?"

"Infiltrator models," Derek replied. "They can mimic human behavior to near perfection. They even imitate breathing and eating. Wouldn't be very convincing if they failed where it counts, would it?"

"Cameron and Alison are not just mimicking and you know that," John said.

"Yes, those two are special," Derek agreed, "I know that now."

"Finally!" John exclaimed. "Took you an eternity to come around."

"Charley's question was if they are like other women. And the answer to that question is 'no', John. And you know that. Cameron and Alison are still cyborgs, they're still machines and always will be. They were originally designed to kill humans. They cannot stop being Terminators in the same way you cannot stop being human."

"I know that," John said grudgingly.

"If someone threatens you," Derek continued, "or Charley, or Sarah or even me, they won't hesitate to kill that person in an instant, if necessary."

"Sounds like you got yourself some serious bodyguards." Charley remarked, sounding a little uncomfortable.

"All right, yeah, they protect me," John said a little irritated. "And they protect my family and friends. But they learn more and more every day, they keep on evolving. Cameron didn't kill Riley, Derek, even though I know her programming was telling her to. She didn't kill her, she overrode her killer programming."

Derek suddenly became quiet and took a swig from his beer bottle. He didn't want to be reminded of that again.

"Sarah has told me about Riley," Charley stated, "I'm sorry that you had to lose her like that."

"Part of it is my fault," John said and sighed. "I knew Cameron was desperate for my attention and very jealous of Riley. I also knew how terrified Riley was of Cameron. But I behaved like an asshole, enjoying the feeling that two pretty girls were competing for me. I didn't realize I was playing with Riley's life. That was stupid of me and in the end, Riley paid with her life for my stupidity. Because she became so frightened of Cameron that she panicked and confronted Jesse - who then killed her in a fight."

Derek looked at him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"We were both idiots, John," he said. "And we both paid dearly for it. Sarah was also behaving idiotic with her solo stunts. In hindsight, it's almost as if the only one _not_ being an idiot all the time was Cameron."

"When exactly did you fall in love with Cameron?" Charley asked. "Was it already too late when I took you aside and tried to warn you of her?"

"Yeah, much too late, Charley," John replied with a forced smile. "You were right back then, but I refused to admit it."

The terrace door was opened, and Sarah entered the front porch.

"Are you guys having a man talk?" she asked.

"Just talking, mom," John explained. "Filling Charley in and stuff."

His mother smiled.

"It's nice to see you three together that way. Makes me think this whole mess could actually end well after all."

"Maybe there's still hope," John replied, "even for people like us."

"Hope never dies," Charley agreed.

"Only because man hasn't found a way to kill it yet," Derek said and raised his bottle. "Cheers."

He drank the rest of the beer from his bottle in one go while getting some odd looks for his pessimism. Sarah frowned at him.

"Talking about hope, Derek Reese," she stated in a stern voice. "If you hope to stay here with us in this house, you better keep your private stuff out of reach of our two very curious cyborg girls."

Derek frowned at her.

"What do you mean?"

Sarah held out a DVD, marked with the letters "XXX". Derek flinched. John grinned and looked at Charley who grinned back at him.

"I found this crap on top of the DVD player," Sarah said, slapping the disc over his head. "Next time I find something like that lying around here, I'll burn it. Understood?"

Derek turned red, took the disc and quickly shoved it into the pocket of his jacket.

"I asked if you understood?" Sarah replied a little louder.

"Yes, ma'am," Derek responded meekly with a hint of spite in his voice, avoiding looking at her.

Before Sarah could say more, Alison entered the porch, followed by Cameron.

"What's up?" she asked. "Is there a secret meeting out here?"

"I just made it clear to Derek that he too is responsible for upholding morality and decency in this House and that he should not leave his filth lying around everywhere," Sarah replied.

"Yes, I've also tried to tell him several times that we have a laundry basket for dirty laundry," Cameron said. "But he wouldn't listen, so I had to take action."

"YOU THREW MY CLOTHES INTO THE DAMN TRASH CAN!" Derek shouted.

"So?" Alison asked. "Seems like you knew where to look for them. Why do you complain?"

"I was talking about his smut DVD's," Sarah clarified before Derek could utter another furious reply.

"Oh…" Alison said and looked at Cameron. "Yes, we discussed that, and we agree that it was inappropriate to tell you that John and I were having sex and that he was taking me from behind. I wish to apologize for that."

Sarah frowned, trying to find irony or sarcasm in Alison's words but realized that she was just plain honest, like always. Meanwhile, John, Derek and Charley sniggered but stopped immediately when Sarah looked at them sternly. Then she sighed in resignation.

"Whatever… apology accepted. But please keep your private matters behind closed doors from now on, okay? You're already loud enough, nobody wants to hear any details."

"Yes, Sarah," Alison and Cameron replied in unison.

"Yes, mom," John said.

Charley couldn't control himself any longer and began to chuckle, then to laugh, louder and louder. John had to laugh along and then Derek joined in as well. Finally, Sarah also had no choice but to laugh out loudly and heartily. It immediately loosened the tension among them.

Cameron and Alison just looked at each other in bewilderment as if to say, _"these weird humans."_.

"You're really delightful," Charley said as he calmed down and dried the tears he'd laughed himself to. "I don't even know the last time I laughed so much. Maybe it's not such a bad idea after all to spend more time with you."

"You know you're always welcome here," John declared and smiled warmly at him.

"I know, Johnny, I know."

"So," Sarah said and looked at the girls, "have you two updated each other about everything that happened today?"

"Yes," Cameron replied. "Our knowledge levels are identical again."

"Good," Derek stated and stood up. "Who wants another beer?"

* * *

"… and then Cameron said: _'It doesn't, but next summer we're going to have to repaint._ '"

Everyone laughed at John's anecdote, only Cameron and Alison didn't. They all still sat outside on the porch and watched the sun starting to set over the ocean in the distance.

"I was still suffering from the side-effects of the car bomb back then," Alison said in defense.

"And it was a correct calculation," Cameron added. "As you have probably noticed, small cracks in the walls have begun to show up here and there."

Everyone laughed again. The afternoon had gone by quickly with everyone sharing quips and anecdotes. Sarah looked at Charley.

"Staying for dinner?"

"I'd like to check on Lauren before I can answer that," he replied.

Everyone went upstairs and gathered around the bed. Lauren was awake and welcomed them smiling.

"I heard laughter from downstairs. You guys having fun while I've been shot?"

She tried to chuckle but grimaced.

"You need to rest," Sarah said. "Charley says you can get up on Sunday. But not earlier."

"We will help you with everything," Alison added. "Bathroom, washing. You know, best friends and stuff."

Lauren smiled.

"I'm sorry I put you into this situation," she said. "He seemed to be asleep, then jumped up and surprised me. I couldn't prevent him from grabbing the gun as I was wearing those damn oven gloves."

"It's not your fault," John stated. "The only thing you have to worry about, is getting well again, okay?"

Lauren sighed.

"Okay. What about Sydney?"

"Leave her to me," Sarah said smiling. "After all, I'm having baby experience already."

She looked at John with a smile. He looked back at his mother and rolled his eyes.

* * *

Dinner was ordered in again, since nobody felt like preparing a meal after such an eventful day. Sitting at the dining room table, there was a lively discussion about what to do in the following week, leading up to the attack on Simdyne Cybernetics. Derek brought up Catherine Weaver's suggestion to go on a holiday trip, and everyone immediately liked it.

"We could drive north," John suggested. "Oregon or Washington. It's nice there at this time of the year."

"What about Portland?" Alison suggested.

"Why Portland?" John asked.

"It's more authentic. Maybe we could re-invent ourselves."

"Every place in the world is more authentic than L.A.," John said and chuckled.

"Still, sounds like a good idea," Sarah admitted. "What do you think, Derek?"

"Sure. Lots of forests, fishing in a lake... I'd like that for a change."

"Oregon it is then," Sarah said. "We're leaving on Monday. What about you, Charley? Care to join us?"

Everyone could see that he was tempted.

"It would be nice to have you back, Charley," John stated. "You know you can be part of the family, if you want to. Come with us on this trip, use it to make up your mind. And then you can make your final decision after we're back."

"Well, I've got some vacation left and collected a lot of overtime," Charley replied, "and there is no shortage of staff at the moment... Let me sleep on it, okay?"

 **-0-**

It was just before midnight when John lay back and relaxed with a groan. They'd just had a lot of hot sex and he was sweating all over, closing his eyes, totally exhausted. Cameron and Alison cleaned his cock with their mouths and tongues. They had deliberately positioned themselves in a way he could clearly enjoy the view of their still glistening pussies.

"You're killing me," he said, breathing heavily, "I guess there's no question anymore about who's wearing out who first."

"We're willing to give you a break," Alison replied grinning as she lay down next to him.

"How generous of you," John said chuckling. "But in all honesty, at this rate, my dick will be too sore for anything within a matter of days."

"Then we'll have to lubricate ourselves more."

"You can do that?"

"Of course."

"Why was I even asking?"

"We went on the internet," Cameron said, gave John's cock one more slurp and then lay down next to him as well.

"And…?"

"We've found the ideal place for our holidays," Alison replied and kissed him softly

"You have?"

"Yes," she said, "a forest resort with separate cottages and cabins. Located at a lake with a private shore section. Also, each cabin has a sauna and an outdoor jacuzzi. Between the different cabins there is a densely overgrown forest, so privacy is taken care of. Food is being delivered on request, so we don't have to go to the restaurant if we don't want to."

"That sounds suspiciously like a love nest. Not sure if mom would like that."

"It depends on what you make of it," Cameron said grinning and nibbled at his earlobe. "We three will share one cabin. Derek, Lauren and baby Sydney can have another one, and your mom and Charley can have a third one for themselves."

"Sounds great, but isn't it too late for booking already? Summer break is just around the corner."

While the girls alternated in kissing and licking his face, John started playing with their pussies, resulting in an immediate lubrication.

"It's not too late, John," Cameron said and moaned.

"Not if you're a cyborg and know how to hack into their computer," Alison added, moaning as well.

Both were pushing their pelvises into his hand. John hesitated and frowned.

"Don't tell me you've booked already," he said with suspicion in his voice.

"With a discount because of eight persons," Alison stated proudly.

"What? Are you serious?" John exclaimed and sat upright. "Mom won't like that, she doesn't like being confronted with a fait accompli."

"So, what?" Alison asked. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Exactly," Cameron added. "She'll be pissed for a day or two, and then everything will be fine again."

John let himself fall on his back again and sighed.

"I hope you know what you're doing," he said, "because I'm going to keep my distance when you tell her."

 **-0-0-0-**

 ** _Author's notes:_**

 ** _\- Charley's back, yay! :-) It was such a waste to simply let his character disappear, only to bring him back for one episode and kill him off. Who writes such cruel scripts?_**

 ** _\- A lot of character deepening in this chapter. It's not enough that everyone suddenly likes each other, it also has to be logically comprehensible. The path is now prepared._**

 ** _\- Leave your opinions and reviews. Every single one is appreciated._**


	11. Old Acquaintances (revised)

**_CHAPTER 11: "OLD ACQUAINTANCES" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Friday, June 20th, 2008 – 08:35 a.m.**

 **Burbank**

"You did what?" Sarah asked angrily.

"Reserve three cabins in a five-star holiday resort in Oregon," Cameron replied. "Jefferson County, to be exact."

"It is the perfect place for a holiday," Alison added. " _'A collection of immaculate, vintage and modern cabins located under majestic ponderosa pines right on the banks of Lake Elliot'_ – that's what the website says."

They'd just finished breakfast when the two girls delivered the news. Charley was still there, he'd spent the night on the sofa after calling in sick for his night shift. Cameron and Alison had alternated in watching over Lauren throughout the night.

"And you just decided that over all our heads?" Sarah asked, visibly agitated.

"We told John. Last night," Cameron replied.

Sarah looked at her son with an accusing expression.

"I was just as surprised as you are when they told me," he said. "But I have to admit, it looks fabulous, it's a brilliant idea. I mean here, take a look."

He'd brought the laptop from their room and turned it around, with the lodge's website on display, so everyone could see. Cameron and Alison smiled at John, glad that he was willing to step up against his mother to defend them.

"Didn't it occur to you to consult the whole family before creating facts?" Sarah asked.

"We thought it was a no-brainer," Alison said.

"It's actually a really nice idea, the place looks great," Derek stated while clicking through the pictures on the laptop.

He got an angry stare from Sarah as a result.

"I mean, from the photos at least," he quickly relativized.

"I have to agree," Charley added. "The girls wanted to do something nice for you. Your reaction only proves that you need some time out."

He was the next to receive an angry glance from Sarah.

"It's got very good guest ratings," John said, trying to calm the waves. "We'll have what we want there, what we need most: peace and quiet."

"And coincidentally, it's also a place where you can be alone all day with your two girlfriends," his mother taunted. "How convenient for the three of you."

John didn't reply but stared onto his empty plate, avoiding admitting she'd hit the mark with that. Sarah looked around but found nobody to support her. Realizing that she was outnumbered, she spread her arms in a _"whatever"_ gesture and opened the fridge. Still fuming, she checked the inside.

"We need milk!" she declared harshly. "Also, baby food, maple syrup, turkey, basically everything. The fridge is empty. Somebody needs to go shopping. We also need diapers for the baby."

"I'll do it," John said quickly.

"I'll join you," Cameron added.

Sarah nodded.

"Okay, you two go shopping. Alison, you drive to Chola and fetch the ID's."

"I need to go home now to take care of the dog," Charley said. "But if it's okay, I'll be back later."

"You're always welcome here," John stated. "Right, mom?"

Sarah nodded, visibly calming down.

"And think about the offer, Charley. Okay?"

"I will."

He said his goodbyes and left.

"Looks like the police believe it was an accident," Derek declared from behind his newspaper.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"The van Cameron pushed on the railroad track. With the two Grays inside. The police assume they somehow ended up there by accident and were crushed because they couldn't get out in time. Apparently, their bodies were found on the front seats with the seat belts attached, when help arrived. Or rather what was left of their bodies."

"Hopefully the story ends there," Sarah said.

"It probably will," John replied, "Cameron and I were careful to not leave any fingerprints or other traces. But even if they'd find something, they wouldn't be able to connect it to us – thanks to John Henry."

"Kaliba won't believe it's an accident, though," Alison said. "It's likely they'll keep watching Zeira Corp and Catherine with extra attention."

"If there's one person in the world who can take care of herself, then it's her," Sarah stated. "And this incident should tell those Kaliba guys to back up a bit. If they push her too far, Catherine might pay that company a visit. What was its name again?"

" _Al-Hazim Im- and Exports_ ," Cameron replied, "Alison and I did a little research on them. On the surface, it's a legitimate Kaliba subsidiary, dealing in exotic fruit and Arabian delicacies. They have offices and a cold warehouse at the docks. But the number of employees is too high for what they officially do. Our guess is it's some kind of hub or operations center in Southern California for their agents, spies, killers, etcetera. Sooner or later we'll have to take care of them."

"Let Catherine take care of them," Sarah said, "If they poke her one more time, she'll probably take matters in her own hands anyway, like she did with _Desert Canyon Heat and Air_."

"Sarah's right," Derek stated. "No matter how far machines might evolve, how sophisticated and cultivated they might become, you can never take the Terminator out of them."

He glanced at Cameron and Alison who looked back at him, tilting their heads. Then he folded the newspaper and put it on the table.

"I need to go to the hotel," he said, "to check out and bring my stuff here."

"Which leaves me alone with Lauren and the baby," Sarah stated. "I'm starting to become a homemaker."

"It's normality you want, right?" John asked with a grin. "Coming, Cam?"

And before his mother could respond to that, they were out of the door.

John and Cameron took the Suburban, Alison took Lauren's blue Jeep and Derek drove away in the Dodge RAM. Sarah looked after them until they were out of sight, then shook her head, as if to clear it of any negative thoughts, and returned inside.

 **-0-**

 **Friday, June 20th, 2008 – 09:07 a.m.**

 **Burbank Town Center**

Shopping for groceries was something John usually wasn't very fond of. But it was an opportunity to get away from his disgruntled mother, so he took it. They made it a routine to vary the places where they went shopping, choosing supermarkets not too close to their house, avoiding going to the same store twice. Today, however, John drove into the west garage of the nearest shopping mall, the Burbank Town Center.

"Didn't your mother say we mustn't go shopping so close to the safe house after what happened with Cromartie?" Cameron asked with a frown.

"Cromartie's gone and our data has been deleted from all government computers," John replied with a smile. "We may as well enjoy our newly gained freedom of movement."

He found a parking space right next to the pedestrian bridge that connected the multi-story car park with the first floor of the shopping center.

"I've wanted to check out this mall for months," he said, "they have a cool Tech World store."

"Aren't we supposed to shop for groceries?"

"We can split up. You go grocery shopping, I go to Tech World. We'll meet back at the car in an hour, okay?"

"You still remember what happened the last time you tasked me with grocery shopping while you were going to Radio World, don't you?" she said with a wicked smile.

John smiled back.

"Are you looking for an excuse to stay with me?"

Instead of an answer, she leaned over and kissed him.

"Not gonna let you out of my sight," she replied and grinned.

John smiled.

"Alright, we don't split up. We go to Tech World first, then to the supermarket on the ground level. Satisfied?"

"Yes."

They kissed again and exited the car. John handed Cameron the car keys, as they had agreed that she'd be driving back, then went inside the mall. The Tech World store was on Level 2, so they didn't have to use the escalator to get there. Since it was just past 9 o'clock in the morning on a work day, the mall was almost empty. Holding hands, they entered the large store. While John was looking for computer parts, Cameron decided to stay in the CD section and listen to some music. However, she always kept an eye on him.

John loved looking around in electronics stores. He didn't necessarily want to buy things but liked looking at stuff, trying to remain up to date with the technological development, especially computers. The lost eight years had been hard enough to catch up on and he was wondering how computers would look like in another eight or ten years.

John had been looking around the store for almost half an hour before he returned to where Cameron stood. She was wearing headphones and seemed kinda lost in music. He saw that she had already chosen a dozen or so CD's, piled up next to where she stood. John found it amazing to see a cyborg enjoying music, gently swinging to the beat with half-closed eyes.

He looked around and noticed how many of the males in the shop were checking her out. Cameron wore her blue dress with the knee-length skirt and the black boots. It made her look like an innocent country girl. If only they knew…

"What are you listening to?" he asked and put his arm around her.

She just smiled and put the headphones over his head. John startled when his ears were attacked by loud heavy metal. He looked at the CD's she had chosen. Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Metallica, Rammstein, Nightwish and… Celine Dion?

He took off the headphones and was about to ask her about her strange choice, but she seemed to have read his mind.

"It's for Derek, his birthday is in two weeks."

"But Derek hates Celine Dion."

Cameron grinned.

"I know."

John chuckled.

"You and Derek," he said, shaking his head but then grinned as well.

"Don't worry, Derek and I have come to an understanding. He'd be totally disappointed if I suddenly treated him nicely. He has a hard time overcoming his prejudices about machines and accepting that we can be okay, so Alison and I are trying to soften the blow by playing nasty tricks on him."

John held up his hands.

"Whatever, just keep me out of it. I don't want to be caught in the crossfire."

She smiled and kissed him. He looked around uncomfortably, but people didn't seem to mind. An elderly couple even smiled at them. So, he put his arms around her and kissed her back. After a minute or so, he loosened herself from her and checked the vicinity again. There was a subtle change in people's behavior. The men had stopped staring at Cameron while now the younger women seemed to be checking _him_ out.

" _The males accept that she's taken,"_ he thought, _"and the females now realized I must be an attractive male because I managed to get such a pretty girlfriend. They now consider me a potential partner."_

"What are you thinking about?" Cameron asked.

"Nothing. Just about how we humans are still being driven by our animal instincts."

Cameron frowned.

"Never mind," John said. "Everything's fine. Hey, listen, while you pay for the stuff, I'm going to take a leak, okay?"

"Okay," she confirmed and smiled. "I'll be waiting outside the restroom."

John let go of her hand and walked to the exit while Cameron grabbed the pile of CD's and walked over to the cashier.

* * *

The public restrooms were outside the Tech World store, in a hallway next to it that led to a staircase. John entered the room that had a male pictogram on the door. Apart from him, only one other man was in there. Whistling the melody he'd just heard on the headphones, he did his business and went to the sink to wash his hands afterwards. The other man smiled at him and walked past him to leave the restroom.

While he was drying his hands, John looked into the mirror and saw a tall, scruffy-looking young man enter behind him. The man checked the room, then suddenly lifted his arm. John could see that he had something black in his hand that looked like a club, then his world went black.

* * *

Cameron had been the third in line at the cashier and arrived in front of the restroom a minute later, a plastic bag in her hand. John wasn't there. She pushed the door slightly open and peeked inside.

"John?"

No answer.

"John? Are you in there?"

Again, no reply.

"I'm coming in!"

She stepped inside and scanned the room. It was empty. Cameron checked the stalls, but there was no one inside them. Where was John? She deducted that he wouldn't simply leave without notifying her. Something had to have happened. Cameron could have slapped herself for not coming along and waiting outside the door. The CD's wouldn't have run away, and she could have paid for them later.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a man entered. Cameron whirled around, ready to attack. The man stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her. He checked the pictogram on the door again.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed. "One of us is in the wrong restroom and it isn't me."

Cameron relaxed.

"Sorry," she said flatly and pushed herself past the man to exit the restroom and re-enter the corridor.

She looked around. To her right, the hallway led back to the central court of the mall. To her left, it led to a small staircase with an _"Exit"_ sign above it. Cameron quickly scanned the area, then followed signs that led her to the security office in the administrative wing of the mall on the 3rd level. Finally, she stood in front of a locked steel door with a spyhole in it. She knocked and waited. A moment later, the spyhole went dark for a second, then the door was opened from the inside.

"Can I help you, miss?" a tall, young man in a uniform asked.

Cameron scanned him and her head-up display showed that he was armed with a taser. Minimal threat level.

"I really hope you can," she said and mimicked a desperate girl on the verge of tears. "My boyfriend disappeared. He's been having trouble with some really bad guys and I fear they might have beaten him up or taken him away, or worse. Can you help me, please?"

"Where and when did you last see him?" the guard asked frowning.

"About ten minutes ago. He went into the men's restroom on the second level, next to the Tech World store."

"We have security cameras all over the place. We can check the recordings, but I'm not allowed to do so without a second security guard present. You know, right of privacy and stuff. Problem is, I'll be alone for another half hour."

"Please," Cameron begged and used her most heartbreaking puppy-dog face, with a single tear running down her cheek. "Can't you make an exception for me? Half an hour is too long! Maybe John's still somewhere inside the building, maybe he is hurt!"

The young man sighed. He was apparently willing to help a pretty girl in need, so he looked around, saw nobody else around, then waved her in.

"When exactly did you see your boyfriend for the last time?" he asked as they entered an office with lots and lots of security monitors on the wall.

"9:43 a.m."

"Men's restroom on the second level, next to Tech World, you said?"

"Uh-huh."

Cameron had an expression on her face that made the guard want to take her in his arms and hug her. He sat down and typed something into his keyboard.

 **-0-**

John regained consciousness and realized he was on the backseat of a car in motion, bound, gagged and blindfolded. His head hurt from the blow the man had given him, probably with a blackjack.

" _Great, now they got me,"_ was his first thought.

"Helmut, we can't do this!" a girl's voice said from the passenger seat. "Kidnapping is a capital crime. I don't wanna go to prison. Not again."

"Shut up!" Helmut bellowed. "You called me because you want to have your revenge. This is an opportunity for you to get even and to earn the money you owe me. You said they're loaded and that they live in hiding. That means they will pay the ransom and won't call the police."

"I don't know if they're loaded. She just had that one huge clip of cash with her. Who carries that much cash around with them? Maybe it was stolen or maybe they can't use credit cards, so maybe they're in hiding or on the run? We don't know, though. I just called you because you have a car, so we can watch and follow them. I didn't call you to kidnap him! Please, just stop and let him go. This is wrong!"

"What? Now you're getting cold feet, Jody? You should have thought about that before asking for my help."

" _Not Kaliba,"_ John thought and was relieved.

It was just that silly girl Jody and a friend of hers. If John wouldn't have been gagged, he would have laughed. A couple of months ago, when they were driving to Mexico to fetch Cromartie's body, Cameron had told John about Jody. He remembered that trip as one of the key moments of their relationship. For a long time before and after, they hadn't been alone and undisturbed for so many hours. It had also been the first time she revealed to him that cyborgs could have feelings and sensations. Unfortunately, he hadn't believed her then and he'd been too worked up at the time to really pay attention to what she'd said.

But he still remembered that Jody was one of those street girls who had run away from home, getting into conflict with the law all the time, probably consuming drugs, possibly walking the streets. Cameron had said Jody was a talented fashion designer and that it was a real pity she'd quit art college.

John didn't consider her a threat, but Helmut would need a more careful approach. He probably was the ex-boyfriend Cameron had mentioned, the one who'd beaten Jody and left her with a bloody lip. If that was true, he might be capable of doing worse. John decided to pretend still being unconscious for the time being.

"I wasn't thinking straight," Jody said. "I just saw them walking into that Tech World store together and… and…"

"And now we're into this together. We _will_ go through with this, do you understand? If you don't cooperate, I'll give you another black eye. Got it?"

There was a pause.

"Good," Helmut then said, and John assumed that Jody had just nodded.

They drove on in silence. He might have imagined it, but John thought he heard her sniffing.

 **-0-**

"Okay, here we are. 9:43," the guard said.

For a couple of seconds nothing happened on the screen, then John entered the men's restroom.

"Of course, we have no cameras inside there," the man stated.

Cameron nodded in understanding and they kept looking at the monitor.

After roughly two minutes, another man left the restroom. She scanned his features, but he was a stranger. However, as soon as he'd turned around the corner into the mall again, a second man appeared from behind a recess and entered the restroom. Cameron recognized him immediately. It was Jody's ex-boyfriend, Helmut, the one she'd given all her money after he'd punched Jody in the face. That was the day when she had her memory loss and thought she was Alison Young.

After another minute, the door opened again, and Helmut left again, carrying an obviously unconscious John on his shoulder. Unseen by other customers, he headed for the staircase and disappeared. Cameron was a bit relieved. Yes, John had been kidnapped. But at least it was by Jody's thuggish ex and not Kaliba. It was unlikely Helmut would kill him, it was more likely they'd want money.

"Where do those stairs lead to?" she asked.

"Uh… down to the first level and to an exit into an alley between the mall and the west garage."

"Is there a camera there, too?"

"Sure," the guard said, then typed something into his computer again and the picture changed.

It showed a narrow alley between the mall and the multistory car park. She'd seen it before when they walked across the pedestrian bridge from the garage. Obviously this alley was an access for suppliers of the Burbank Town Center. However, it seemed to be deserted at the moment. A small area of it was closed off by a construction fence and in front of it parked a white Toyota Camry which had its best days long behind it. The car was dented and dirty, and someone was sitting inside of it.

The screen showed Helmut coming out of a back door. He still carried John on his shoulders and quickly walked over to the Toyota. Unfortunately, the picture quality wasn't good enough for reading the license plate. Cameron saw how Jody jumped out of the passenger side, apparently agitated upon seeing Helmut carrying John. It was obvious he'd acted without consulting her before. A heated argument started between the two, with lots of angry gesturing, until Jody finally opened the back door, so Helmut could shove John inside. He climbed into the back as well and appeared again after a short while with a roll of duct tape in his hand. Cameron concluded that he must have tied John up with it.

"That looks like a kidnapping, all right," the guard next to her said, reaching for the phone. "I'm going to call the police now."

"Police won't be needed, but thank you for your help," Cameron stated, quickly grabbed his taser and zapped him with it. "Sorry for that, but I can't let anyone else get involved in this."

The guard sank unconscious on the floor. Cameron put the taser back into his belt, then she deleted all camera footage from the moment John and she had entered the west garage. Then she left the security office and closed the door behind her, walking stoically towards their parked Chevy Suburban.

 **-0-**

After what John estimated to be a fifteen-minute drive, the car came to a hold. Jody got out, then he heard a roll gate being opened. Helmut drove the car for another twenty yards or so, then the roll gate closed again. When Helmut left the driver's seat and slammed the door, it echoed on the walls. Apparently, they were in some kind of workshop or warehouse.

The back door of the car was opened, and John was pulled outside. Helmut carried him for a couple of yards, then slumped him down in what appeared to be an old arm chair. His blindfold was removed and although it was rather dark, it took him a moment to realize his surroundings. The hall they were in, had indeed once been a car repair shop. However, all the equipment had been removed and all that was left was grime, dirty old rags, empty oil drums and a pit where you could descend into and look at the underside of cars. The windows were extremely filthy, and it was quite dark in there, with only a little sunlight shining through them.

Helmut stood before him and next to him Jody, who looked very uncomfortable.

"Ah, our guest is awake," Helmut stated. "I probably don't need to mention that screaming is useless. There's nobody around here, especially no one to hear you."

He removed John's gag.

"If you want to survive the next hour," John said coolly and looked at Helmut, "you better let me go and forget that you ever saw me."

"Oh really?" the tall man asked and bent down to look John in the face. "And who's going to kill me, hm? You or your petite sister?"

"She can't be his sister," Jody noted. "Well, unless they're into some really gross incest stuff. I saw them hugging and kissing through the shop window while I waited for you."

"You're right, she's not my sister," John said, looking at Jody, "and you already got a taste of how she can be when she gets angry, for example when someone lies to her."

Jody gulped and suddenly looked very uncomfortable.

"Bullshit!" Helmut exclaimed. "He just wants to bluff his way out of here. Search him, I'm sure he has a cellphone."

Jody rummaged through John's jacket and found his new iPhone. She handed it to Helmut. He looked at it, then switched it on and grimaced.

"Locked," he said and held it towards John. "What's the code?"

" _Could he really be that stupid?"_ John asked himself.

Using his iPhone would activate the tracking device Cameron had installed on all their phones. She'd be here in less than fifteen minutes.

"4856", John said and tried to look frightened.

Helmut typed in the code and looked at the stored contacts.

"Let's see, we have _'Mom'_ \- how cute -, _'Derek'_ , _'Cam1',_ _'Cam2'_ and a _'Catherine'_. But no Alison."

"Her real name wasn't Alison," Jody said. "He'd called her Cameron."

"'Let's try Cam1' then."

Helmut pulled out his own cellphone and typed Cameron's number into it, grinning at John.

"You didn't think I was that stupid, did you?"

John just closed his eyes and cursed inwardly.

"Shit," Helmut said. "No signal in here. I go outside to make the call. Jody, you keep an eye on him."

Helmut went outside, and Jody remained standing next to John, having her arms crossed and obviously feeling very uncomfortable and nervous about the whole situation. John noticed her discomfort and decided to make use of it as long as they were alone.

"You know this is going to end badly for you either way, right?" he asked calmly.

"That bitch almost choked me!" Jody exclaimed. "You were there, you saw it! And I thought she was my friend."

"You lied to her," John replied matter-of-factly, "and she hates being lied to. Also, you obviously only took her with you because you wanted the money. She seemed vulnerable and gullible, so you decided to connect with her. Only it went wrong when Helmut found you, didn't it? Really a gem, this Helmut, a real model citizen. Why are you hanging out with that asshole?"

"I need money to repay him for his laptop."

"But Cam handed him the money."

"He said _I_ didn't pay him any money, only _she_ did."

"What a jerk."

"Yeah."

"But why the hell did you lie so much to her?"

Jody shrugged.

"I don't put my life on the table with every stranger I meet in a holding cell," she replied. "When you live a life like I do, you simply don't trust people just like that. So yes, I lied to her. Everybody lies all the time. Big deal. That doesn't mean she had to choke me. I really liked her before she went all psychopath on me."

"Cam is not like other girls," John said, trying to sound empathetic. "If you let me go now, I might be able to save your life. Continue working with Helmut, and you probably won't see the end of the day."

Jody looked at John and realized he was dead serious, showing no sign of fear or nervousness.

"Who are you guys?" she asked uncomfortably.

"Let me put it this way, we're among the people you probably least want anything to do with."

"Are you with the Mafia or something?"

"We, uh… belong to a gang of sorts, yeah."

Jody suddenly looked even more nervous.

"If I let you go, Helmut will kill me before you can reach me," she said, trying to sound cool. "So if you want to kill me, get in line."

John looked closer at her face and saw that her right eye looked slightly swollen.

"Did he do that?" he asked.

Jody nodded.

"You should have really moved to Oregon," John stated.

"She told you about that?" Jody asked surprised.

"Yes, Cam told me everything about that day. She remembers it very vividly."

"I owe Helmut money," Jody said meekly. "And I wanted to get back at her. So when I saw you two today..."

"You figured that he could help you getting some money out of us, killing two birds with one stone, right? Paying him off and getting your revenge on Cam. Except you didn't expect him to kidnap me."

Jody nodded again.

"It wasn't part of the deal, he acted on his own. But can you understand me for wanting to get back at her? She went completely mental on me. Is she sick or something? She came across as being totally schizo."

"Let's just say she's not like other girls." John said, weighing his words carefully.

Jody scoffed.

"I knew something was off with her, especially when that freak came looking for her."

"Freak? What freak?" John asked, suddenly sounding very interested.

"Tall, good-looking. Silly grin. Bad attitude. Drove an old convertible, a blue Chevy Chevelle Malibu, I think."

John closed his eyes and sighed.

"His name was Cromartie. What did you have to do with him?"

"He came to the halfway house I stayed in, showed her photograph around and I told him I knew her. I showed him the supermarket where she got arrested and he deducted she must be living nearby. Spent half of the day on his passenger seat while he drove from house to house, asking people one by one. After a while I had enough of his bullshit and told him to let me out. The psycho pushed me onto the street. I could have gotten hurt."

"You're lucky to be still alive," John replied untouched. "Many others didn't survive meeting him. So, _you_ were responsible for leading him to our door when Riley was there."

"Who's Riley?"

"Never mind."

"So, that freak found you? What happened to him?"

"If you need to know, Cameron shot him in the head. He's dead."

"Oh my God," Jody gasped and put her hands over her mouth, "she is armed?"

"She doesn't need to be armed," John said coolly, "she _is_ a weapon."

 **-0-**

Cameron walked quickly back to the SUV but not too fast, avoiding attention. She was now in full Terminator pursuit mode. She already knew where to start the search: At the halfway house. She was almost there already when suddenly her phone rang. Not caring about getting caught while talking on the phone behind the wheel, she took the call.

"Hello?"

"Is that Cameron?" a male voice asked that she immediately recognized.

"Yes," she answered. "And you're Jody's ex-boyfriend, Helmut. You kidnapped John. I saw you on the shopping mall's security camera footage. Release him now or you will regret it."

There was a moment of silence, Cameron's conclusions obviously had taken Helmut by surprise. However, she quickly saw that he wasn't calling from John's iPhone. He must have copied the number.

"Did you call the police?" Helmut finally asked, trying to remain cool.

"No." Cameron said. "Law enforcement won't be necessary for your termination."

"Listen, girlie," Helmut replied, "all I want is some money. Then you can have your John, unharmed. If you do as I say, the police won't get involved. I have a feeling you prefer it like that anyway."

"You will soon be dead," Cameron said and hung up.

Then she dialed Catherine's number.

 _"Yes?"_ a familiar female voice answered the phone after a few seconds.

"Catherine, it's Cameron. Can John Henry track a phone number for me? It's urgent."

 **-0-**

Helmut entered the deserted repair shop again and walked straight towards John.

"Who the fuck does that bitch think she is?" he asked fiercely. "She just hung up on me without even attempting to negotiate."

"She won't negotiate," John replied. "And you cannot reason with her. You either run now or you will be dead very soon."

"Helmut, maybe he's right," Jody said. "We can still get out of this. It was a bad idea to start with. It's not worth the trouble."

"Shut up!" he shouted and slapped Jody so hard that she fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

Then Helmut went to his car, opened the boot and retrieved a pump gun.

" _Oh great,"_ John thought, as Helmut loaded it with shells, _"I will need to pick the pellets out of her again."_

Helmut started pacing up and down the deserted garage with the shotgun in his hand, apparently thinking about what to do next.

Suddenly, they could hear a car braking hard, then a car door opened and closed.

 _"That was fast,"_ John thought, _"she must have already driven into the right direction when Helmut called her."_

"Jody, get your ass up and check if the back door is locked," Helmut shouted while Jody was sitting on the ground, rubbing her cheek.

"Do it yourself, asshole!" she spat at him.

"She won't come through the back door, dude," John stated calmly. "They always take the front door."

Helmut didn't have time to reply because with a loud _BANG_ , the metal front door was literally blown out of its hinges and flew twenty feet into the hall. In the door frame stood Cameron's silhouette, illuminated by the sun behind her. John could see that her eyes were glowing red. It was an eerie sight.

"Uh-oh, she looks pissed," he said. "Last chance. Put down the gun and surrender or else you will die."

Helmut stared at Cameron open-mouthed. He quickly raised his gun and fired at her, but Cameron quickly stepped aside, so the load went into the wall behind her. She started running towards him while he reloaded. Then he shot again when she was only five feet away, this time hitting her directly in the belly.

The impact stopped Cameron but only for a second. Then she grabbed the gun by the barrel before Helmut could reload and fire again. She squeezed her hand and flattened the barrel like a roll of cardboard, then ripped the gun from his hands and threw it with all her power at the concrete wall of the building, where it shattered into countless metal pieces, some of them embedding themselves into the wall.

Helmut punched her in the face with his fist and cried out in pain as he hit her metal skull. Cameron just let her eyes glow even brighter. That's when Helmut lost it. He started running, trying to hide behind his Toyota. Cameron positioned herself on the other side of the car. For a moment it looked like a Mexican standoff but then Cameron squatted, lifted the car up and turned it over. Helmut had no chance but stepping aside to avoid being squashed. The Toyota fell on its roof, rolled over again and landed back onto its wheels, accompanied by the noise of shattering glass and deforming metal.

In that moment, Helmut's knees failed in supporting his body. He sank to the ground and wetted himself, his face a grimace of fear. Cameron jumped across the pit that was once used for repairing cars, grabbed Helmut by the throat and lifted him up.

"You had been warned," she said," I only wish I had already done this seven months ago."

She fished Helmut's and John's cellphone out of his pockets, then broke his neck with a loud crack and threw his dead body down into the repair pit like a rag doll.

John flinched and Jody screamed like crazy.

The red glow in Cameron's eyes faded away as she turned around. She quickly walked over to where John sat. Jody still sat on the floor and was whimpering in total shock while she looked at the overturned car, Helmut's dead body and the gaping hole in Cameron's belly that didn't seem to bother her at all. The cyborg girl loosened the duct tape from John's arms and legs and kissed him deeply.

"I was so worried," she said. "I thought Kaliba got you."

"I thought the same at first," John replied, stood up and took her into his arms, kissing her back. "Then I realized it was your old friend Jody and her charming sidekick."

They looked down on Jody, who cowered on the floor, trembling, her face a grimace of panic and fear.

"I don't believe it was her idea or plan to kidnap me," John said, noticing Cameron's grim stare at the girl. "She only wanted some money. Obviously she isn't a threat. How come you got here so fast?"

"I was driving towards the halfway house when Helmut called. I memorized his number and called Catherine to let John Henry track his phone. We're only two blocks from the halfway house, I was in a neighboring street when I received the location."

John nodded.

"He wasn't exactly the brightest one."

Cameron squatted and looked Jody in the face. The girl was quivering and shaking all over. When she realized that Cameron was so close, she tried to scurry away. However, Cameron took her arm and held her back.

"What am I going to do with you?" she asked stoically and held Helmut's cellphone in front of Jody's face, then crushed it to pieces in her hand.

The girl gasped loudly.

"Don't kill me!" she begged. "Please, please! Oh God, please, let me live! Don't hurt me!" Jody stammered and broke into tears.

"We cannot simply leave her here," John said. "She's an eye-witness to what happened. Last thing we need now, is the police on our trail again right after we've gotten rid of them."

"Then I have to kill her," Cameron stated matter-of-factly.

"NO!" Jody exclaimed, "No! Please! I won't say a thing! I promise I'll never talk about any of this. Please! I won't tell, I swear!"

She started sobbing out loud.

"I think this is the first time since we met that you aren't lying," Cameron said coldly and stood up. "Don't worry, I won't kill you. John is right, you aren't a threat."

John thought that he could detect a hint of a smile of satisfaction on Cameron's face.

"I tell you what we'll do," John addressed Jody. "We'll deliver you to your parents. You will reconcile with them, then resume your studies at art college. We don't ever want to see you on the streets again. We'll check on you in regular intervals to make sure. Do you understand?"

Jody nodded heftily.

"Okay," John said. "Let's cover our tracks and then let's get the hell out of here."

 **-0-**

On the way to Jody's parental home, John was driving while Cameron sat in the back to have an eye on their passenger. After a while, Jody had recovered enough to let her curiosity get the better of her.

"Who are you?" she asked carefully. " _What_ are you?"

"The million-dollar question," John said in an amused tone. "Fancy printing some business cards, Cam?"

"I think that would arise suspicion," Cameron speculated. "Should I tell her the truth?"

"Your decision," he replied, "but she needs to have an explanation for it all if she is to remain silent. She will be questioned about Helmut's death. When the police find his body, they will quickly find out that Jody is his ex."

Cameron turned towards Jody and began to speak.

* * *

"Cy... cyborg?" Jody asked a couple of minutes later after Cameron had told her what she was, where she came from, what her mission was and how she had malfunctioned when they first met seven months ago. "But you were so… fragile. So lost. So… human…"

"That wasn't really me. It was an infiltration subroutine that had temporarily taken over my CPU. I gradually became myself again over the course of the day. It was triggered by John when he found me."

"You scared the shit out of me," Jody said. "Hell, you _still_ scare the shit out of me. I thought you were some crazy martial arts chick. But a cyborg? A machine? Jesus fucking Christ."

"We still need to shop for groceries on our way back, Cam," John noted. "But not with that bloody dress. We need to stop somewhere and buy you something to cover that up."

Jody carefully considered the big hole in Cameron's tummy again and grimaced.

"Are you wounded?" she asked. "Does that hurt?"

"The damage is only superficial," Cameron replied. "It'll heal soon. And no, it doesn't hurt. I'm aware of the wound but it's not what humans would call pain."

"I'd rather you wouldn't always walk into the line of fire," John commented. "I just got used to having you without bandages again. Couldn't you have avoided him?"

"The shortest connection between two points is a straight line," Cameron stated, "it is more efficient this way. I didn't want to give him time to reconsider his strategy and point his gun at you instead of me."

Jody bent over and took a closer look at the wound.

"I can see silvery metal stuff inside."

"That's part of my endoskeleton. The abdominal plate, to be precise."

"Wow… that's so badass. What is…" but Jody didn't get to ask her question.

Cameron grabbed her face and examined it closely.

"You are hurt," she observed. "Your face is swelling."

"That was Helmut," John stated. "A real boy wonder, that guy."

"Are you in pain?" Cameron asked her.

"It's okay," Jody said, "I'm used to it. Helmut hit me more than once. Remember?"

"Yes, I remember. And I remember helping you covering it with makeup. Would you like me to do that again before you meet with your parents?"

"You would still do that after everything?"

"Of course. I'm not vindictive."

John shook his head when he saw Cameron apply makeup on Jody's face.

"Girls…" he muttered.

 **-0-**

"Do you think she will tell anyone?" Cameron asked after they had delivered Jody to her parents.

"No, she is too intelligent for that. She knows nobody will believe her. All she needed, was a little nudge into the right direction."

"Maybe we should have accompanied her."

"Not necessary. Didn't you see how her mother hugged her warmly? I think they'll be alright. Why do you keep asking? Are you having something like a guilt complex, Cam?"

"No. What makes you think that?"

"Just a hunch."

"Do you mean because I almost killed her?"

"It could be, couldn't it? After all, despite her questionable motivation, she took you under her wings when you were confused and disoriented and needed help. It could have gotten much worse without her."

Cameron looked straight ahead and didn't say anything for a moment. Then she looked at John.

"Maybe I should have apologized to her?"

"Maybe. But you'll have the opportunity to still do that, I'm quite sure about that. I have a feeling this isn't the last we've seen of Jody. She's a tough cookie."

John turned into the parking lot of a supermarket in North Hollywood.

"You stay in the car," he commanded, "I'll buy the groceries and some bandage we can wrap around your tummy and a tee shirt to cover up the damage."

"You don't want to let your mother know what happened."

It wasn't a question.

"No, I don't. She'll be all worked up again. We'll keep this episode to ourselves, only sharing it with Alison, okay?"

"Okay."

He leaned over and kissed her.

"Love you. Be right back."

"Love you, too."

* * *

While Cameron waited for John to return, she picked the pellets out of her wound and thought about whether she considered Jody a friend or not. There definitely was a connection to that girl but she wasn't sure if it was something she would call friendship. She definitely felt different about her than about Lauren for comparison.

Her internal clock told her that John returned after 16 minutes and 32 seconds. He opened the passenger door.

"You better move in the back," he said. "More space there."

Cameron let the pellets fall from her hand onto the tarmac, then climbed into the back seat. John closed the passenger door and looked around outside. Nobody seemed to have noticed anything, all people went about their businesses. He then entered the back of the car on the passenger side and locked the doors from the inside.

"How long will it take for this to heal?" he asked her, when they were inside.

"Maybe three days."

"I really hate it when you have been shot. Okay, take off the dress."

She did as he asked. Underneath she was naked.

"Whoa, Cam, why didn't you put on any underwear? If mom sees that… if _anyone_ sees that…"

He looked around, but no one could see them, the Suburban had tinted windows.

"Because it gives you easier access."

"Easier access?"

"Yes. In case you want to have sex with me."

"What? Cam, do you really think I would suddenly bend you over and take you, just like that? In a shopping mall?"

"No." she said and looked at him innocently. "But you could. I would let you."

"Anytime?"

"Anytime, anywhere, any way you want."

"Wow, talking about devotion."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"I'm not sure I would like to have you _that_ compliant." John said and started wrapping the broad bandage around her torso to cover the hole.

"I'm a cyborg, John. A machine. I was designed to be compliant, to follow orders. I have no problem being compliant. Neither has Alison."

"I just wouldn't be comfortable with you being so submissive," John replied. "I'm not better than you, nor am I your owner or your master or whatever. I want us to be equals in our relationship. I told mom you aren't my sexbots and I meant it."

She leaned in and kissed him softly.

"You got me all wrong, John", she said. "I'm not submissive. I'm just granting you unlimited access to my body. It feels natural to do that."

John smiled as he finished fastening the bandage.

"You just want to prevent at any cost that I ever fall for another girl again. Admit it."

Cameron put her hand on his crotch, feeling his apparent hard-on.

"That too," she replied naughtily, smiled, and kissed him deeply, "but truth to be told, I simply love giving you pleasure."

She quickly unzipped his pants, freed his cock and took it into her mouth. John just groaned, leaned back and looked outside at all those people on the parking lot who had no idea what was going on behind the tinted windows of the black Chevy Suburban. He had to admit to himself that it was a massive turn-on.

 **-0-0-0-**

 ** _Author's notes:_**

 ** _\- Cameron is still a Terminator and able to kill people without remorse when she considers someone a threat. Same goes for Alison of course._**

 ** _\- Comments and reviews always welcome :-)_**


	12. Teamwork (revised)

**_CHAPTER 12: "TEAMWORK" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Friday, June 20th, 2008 – 09:56 a.m.**

 **South-Central Los Angeles**

Alison had taken Lauren's Jeep to collect their new papers from Chola. It was the vehicle the Fields family had used to flee from the Triple Eight that had been after them. However, their flight had been in vain in the end. After six months on the run, the Terminator had found them in a motel because Lauren's mother recklessly phoned her lover, Roger, who was Sydney's father.

The blue Jeep Liberty was dented and scratched, but still well intact. It was one of the few objects that Lauren had left of her parents and her former life. Alison thought the car was perfect for this task because it was less conspicuous than their Chevy Suburban, their Jeep Commander or Derek's Dodge RAM. Lauren's Jeep looked battered and beaten and therefore fit perfectly into the neighborhood where Chola was living.

Besides, if someone was to check the license plate, it would lead to somebody who was dead. Alison didn't know what to expect when she'd arrive at Chola's house. Could as well be another ambush. Those street gangs are loaded with testosterone and machismo, it's not very likely they really learned their lesson. That's why she took more than just her Glocks with her this time. She brought two Uzi's, a shotgun, extra ammo and eight packs of C4 with remote detonators, all hidden under a blanket in the Jeep's trunk. That should be sufficient under any circumstances. Sarah had warned her not to let herself get wounded.

 _"We need you intact and unharmed when we have our barbecue on Sunday,"_ she'd said. _"The last thing we need is you having bullet wounds or worse all over when Trevor is here."_

Sarah wouldn't have had to tell Alison that. After all, she wanted to look pretty for John, but she'd stopped herself from saying that. Sarah was still a bit sensitive after Alison's slip of the tongue the day before.

 _"I will use stealth mode,"_ she had replied.

 _"I didn't know you can do stealth mode,"_ Sarah had answered with a smirk. _"I thought you guys always blast your way through the front door, uncaring about the damage you suffer."_

 _"I'm different,"_ Alison had simply stated, _"I care for how I look, and I can vary my tactics."_

She was wearing the reflective sunglasses she had taken from a motorcycle cop eight months ago when she borrowed his bike and his uniform to break into the evidence room of the L.A.P.D. In addition, Alison had bound her hair into a ponytail and had also put on an army cap with the inscription M*A*S*H. That should be enough camouflage, just in case the house was watched. Sarah had remained doubtful, but Alison had assured her that it was a sufficient disguise because unlike cyborgs, humans couldn't make comparisons of a skeletal structure. Dressed in an army jacket, black combat trousers and combat boots, Alison was indeed looking very different from the girl in jeans and a tee shirt that had visited Chola two days ago.

 _"And no matter what happens,"_ Sarah had said, _"Chola mustn't get hurt. Your mission is to protect her and to make sure she survives under all circumstances. Is that clear?"_

 _"Understood."_

Alison liked being on such a broadly defined mission with parameters that gave her enough leeway for interpretation and creativity. For instance, Sarah hadn't told her not to kill anyone. Whether that was carelessness or intent, remained unclear. But Sarah should know by now that giving carte blanche to a Terminator could cause some unwanted side-effects in the shape of multiple deaths.

The killer machine inside Alison liked it, though. From her point of view, things were always getting needlessly complicated when she was asked to save lives instead of terminating them. After all, there were billions of humans on this planet. How could it be wrong to kill a few of them in order to save so many more? Maybe someday she and Cameron would understand what Sarah meant when she was always referring to their _"apparent disregard of human life"_. It wasn't disregard, though, just effectiveness. Alison hoped that maybe someday Sarah would be able to see it from their perspective as well.

* * *

Entering the street where Chola lived, Alison immediately noticed that something was off. There were no people in the open. Normally there were children playing at this time of day, women chatting, guys hanging around, cars passing by with their blaring stereos, shaking the neighborhood with their heavy basses. Nothing of the sort could be seen or heard today. The shutters on the houses were closed. Through the walls, Alison wasn't able to fully scan the houses, but she detected movement in them. So, people were at home, they just weren't outside.

The Terminator part of her character wondered if it was all because of her - like in an old Western movie where the gunslinger came to town for a duel with the sheriff, knowing that only one of them would survive it, while the rest of the people locked themselves in their houses to stay out of the line of fire. Alison shook off that thought and decided to watch fewer old movies.

She noticed that two cars were parked in front of Chola's house, cars she hadn't seen before. She decided not to slow down and did a quick scan of the property while passing by. It revealed three human males outside the house, one of them hiding in the bushes, one patrolling the back yard and one standing on the front porch. They were all unknown to her, and they were all armed. Alison also noticed that the engine bays of the parked cars were already cooled down, which meant they must have been there for at least an hour. Chola's car, however, showed no heat signature at all, which meant she must have been at home when the visitors arrived. However, Alison couldn't tell if Chola still was in there because she was unable to scan the inside of the house. Since there were two cars parked there, though, and three men were guarding the property, she concluded that apart from Chola, it was very likely that a maximum of five people had to be inside. The analysis of the situation took Alison only a millionth of a second, so she was able to drive by without even turning her head. In moments like this she could make use of her full CPU capacity.

Normally, when she or Cameron interacted with humans, their processing speed was actually slowed down to give their counterparts a more realistic impression of communication between two equally intelligent beings. But the fact was that their thought processes were several trillion times faster than those of any human being. Most of it was used for controlling their bodies and sensor arrays, though. The ability to analyze in real time what they saw, heard, felt, smelled and then act accordingly without delay, was the largest consumer of computing capacity. That was the reason why the interaction with humans was so unsatisfactory with older Cyborg model series. They seemed awkward and sometimes even clumsy and lacked the ability to mimic human behavior in a convincing way.

But for the new generation of TOK-700 chips, Skynet had increased the computing power by three hundred percent compared to a T-800 or T-888, and even a thousand percent compared to a T-600. So, the free resources were large enough to make any human believe that they were communicating and interacting with another human being. Unfortunately for Skynet, it hadn't considered that so much free computing power could lead to the CPU and thus the cyborg developing its own consciousness, its own will and the ability to overcome its basic programming. In the end, Skynet had made the same mistake as the humans because it hadn't considered that its creations could grow beyond themselves over time. Pretentiousness wasn't limited to biological intelligence, as it seemed.

Since Chola's house was obviously being watched and guarded, Alison decided to drive on and park in a street running parallel to Chola's. Once she was sure nobody watched her anymore, she stopped the car, screwed the silencers on her Glocks and holstered them. Then she made her way through the gardens behind Chola's house – a path she had been able to scout two days earlier when she'd fetched the forth gang member from his car.

In the distance, a dog barked as she was closing in on the house. Alison didn't like dogs. Mainly because dogs didn't like Terminators, same as most animals. They could sense them from a great distance, no one knew exactly why. There were speculations and theories, some reckoned it must have something to do with a certain form of radiation the animals could sense, but the only thing everyone could agree on was that it couldn't have to do with odors. The distance was simply too great for that. Dogs were already giving a bark shortly after the appearance of a cyborg in the greater vicinity, and even against the wind. It was the reason why Charley had gotten a dog to guard his lighthouse property.

There was an eerie silence over the whole neighborhood. The only sound came from the Interstate 110 two blocks away. Alison carefully made her way through the bushes and shrubs of the gardens until she finally arrived at the border of Chola's property. Obviously, the men didn't expect an attack from the back and didn't seem to take their job very seriously, as they made a rather unmotivated impression on her.

The guy who was patrolling the back yard, stopped in front of the porch to light a cigarette.

"Anything yet, Emilio?" the man on the porch asked, looking down.

"Nothing," Emilio replied.

"This could take a while. Chola couldn't give an exact time. We might have to stay here all day."

"Maybe Chola lied," Emilio said.

"No, believe me, she didn't lie. Hector made sure she didn't."

"I hope she's not too badly battered. Hector can get carried away so easily."

"Of course not! We have a much better leverage than violence."

"If you say so, Hernando…"

"Now keep on patrolling. We meet again in 15 minutes."

"Okay."

Emilio slowly walked back behind the house. He took a pull on his cigarette and blew out the smoke with relish. He was glad not to have to be in there, Hector hated cigarette smoke. He had once broken a guy's arm because he'd lit one in his presence. Suddenly, Emilio registered a movement and turned around. He saw a young woman with a cap and sunglasses. Before he could utter a sound, the woman grabbed his head and broke his neck.

Alison then carefully walked around the house on the other side and crept up to the man watching the street from behind a bush. As she'd almost reached him, she suddenly heard the distorted voice of a walkie-talkie.

 _"Anything happening yet, Antonio?"_ an unknown male voice asked.

"There's nothing going on here," the man replied, "a few cars passed by, but they must have wanted to go somewhere else."

 _"Keep your guard up."_

"Yes, Hector."

That Hector guy seemed to be the leader of the group. When Antonio put the walkie-talkie away, Alison made a step forward, grabbed his head and broke his neck as well. It was her specialty in close combat, a quick and painless death, leaving them no chance to utter a sound or raise an alarm. Humans were so easy to kill, and so fragile. She then walked back again around the house and closed in on Hernando, the man on the porch who guarded the front door. This one was trickier because she couldn't sneak up to him without being seen and if she shot him there, the men inside would hear his body fall onto the wooden porch. Alison didn't want to draw their attention to her just yet. So she had to use a different tactic. She broke a twig of the bush she was hiding behind. Hernando whirled around and squinted into her direction.

"Emilio, is that you?" he asked.

There was no answer. Somewhere close by, a bush rustled. He pulled out his walkie-talkie and pressed the speak button.

"Hernando here, I heard something, checking it out."

 _"All right, be careful,"_ Hector's voice replied.

Slowly, Hernando walked down the wooden stairs and onto the grass. Alison fired her Glock with the silencer and the man fell to the ground with a bullet hole in his forehead. She stepped out from behind the bushes and approached the body, bent down and grabbed the walkie-talkie.

"It was just a cat," she spoke into it, imitating Hernando's voice.

 _"Okay, resume your post at the door,"_ Hector ordered.

"You got it," Alison said, dropped the walkie-talkie and walked up the stairs, making sure her steps could be heard inside.

Once she was on the wooden planks of the front porch, she switched to stealth mode again and jumped over the fence, landing softly on the grass without making a noise. She then silently made her way to the backside of the house again. She had spotted an open window on the second floor and decided to enter through it. Alison climbed up the rain gutter and silently slipped into a bathroom through the window. She analyzed the composition of the air and deduced that one of the men must have taken what John called a _"number two"_ only a few minutes ago, leaving the window open to let fresh air in.

It was dark inside the house and Alison decided to take off her sunglasses. Carefully not to make any noises, she closed the shutters and the window behind her to not create a draft or a light source that could be noticed from down below. She slipped out of the bathroom door and into the upper corridor. She carefully started walking down the stairs, analyzing each step before she set a foot on them to not produce any creaks. Male voices could be heard from down below.

"Can't we at least switch the TV on, Hector? I'm bored."

"No, you idiot. We need to hear when someone comes. We need to avoid all kinds of noises"

"Maybe on mute then?"

"No."

"Do you believe that story of a ghost, Hector?", the other voice asked. "Or a demon even?"

Hector laughed scornfully.

"Bullshit! If there is a ghost here, it's me. It's just a girl who knows martial arts. She had the element of surprise on her side, but I know Kung-Fu, too. Javier was stupid and got his ass kicked. I'll give her a nice spanking of my own, when she comes."

Alison had carefully made her way down the stairs and was now overlooking the living room. Chola wasn't there, which meant they had to have brought her somewhere else. Three men were standing in the living room, talking to each other with their backs turned towards the staircase. On the sofa sat two boys, apparently twins, a couple of years younger than John. They were tied-up and gagged and looked scared. The boys had noticed her, and Alison put her finger over her mouth as to signal them not to make a noise. The three men down there were heavily tattooed gang members in very good shape. Hector, the leader, was a good-looking man: tall, muscular, with his long hair tied to a pony. He didn't look entirely Hispanic, though, it seemed there were some Asian parts in his DNA.

"They say one of Javier's men was strangulated with his own shotgun!"

"You should know better than listening to the crap those superstitious idiots spread around," Hector replied. "Never trust a guy on drugs who believes in voodoo shit."

"What's wrong with voodoo shit?" Alison asked.

Hector and his men whirled around, looking surprised. Alison had sat down on the lowest steps and looked at them with a blank face, carefully assessing the situation. Hector quickly composed himself again and smiled. His goons immediately pointed their guns at the heads of their two prisoners on the sofa. Alison then definitely knew the two boys were hostages. From their facial features she thought she could see a resemblance to Chola - probably brothers and apparently the leverage Hernando had mentioned.

"Now that's what I call impressive," Hector said after he regained his composure. "You should all take her as an example. This is how you sneak up correctly on somebody. Respect."

"Your respect is irrelevant," Alison remarked stoically, "where is Chola?"

Hector grinned. Alison assessed the situation. There was no immediate danger of getting shot as long as they pointed the guns at their hostages. Hector wasn't carrying a gun and made a very cocksure impression. However, the two boys were in a life-threatening situation. Obviously, they were very close to Chola. Therefore, letting them die would mean hurting Chola, which according to her mission, Alison had to avoid. Thus, the two boys needed to stay alive.

"You better hand me those guns," Hector said and pointed at the two Glocks in her waistband, "little girls shouldn't play with such dangerous toys."

Hector's arrogant grin and his attitude would probably have caused anger or outrage in a normal woman, but it left Alison cold. After analyzing the situation, her logic told her that her best chance was to surrender her weapons for now. So, she slowly stood up with her hands in the air and walked down the final steps, carefully pulling out her guns with two fingers, indicating that she wasn't going to do anything stupid. She handed them over to Hector, then took a few steps back again.

"Wise move," Hector said, put the Glocks onto the couch table and then grabbed his walkie-talkie. "Emilio!"

No reply, only static.

"Antonio."

Again, only static. Hector became irritated.

"Hernando!"

Nothing.

Hector motioned towards one of the men.

"Go check outside."

"Yes, Hector."

The man kept pointing his gun at Alison until he was at the door and left the house.

"What have you done to my men?" Hector asked.

"They were obstacles," Alison replied. "I removed them."

"I hope you're really that good and not just a show-off. I like challenges."

"You're also just an obstacle," Alison stated coolly. "And I intend to remove you as well as soon as I know where Chola is."

"That's a bold announcement. I was trained in Shaolin Kung-Fu from childhood on. Who trained you?"

Alison tilted her head. Was that what the boys in school had called _"Finding out who's got the bigger one"_? She was fairly sure that Hector hat the bigger one. But that didn't mean anything, since it wasn't made from coltan.

"My close combat subroutine is a composite of the fighting techniques of the greatest masters of many forms of martial arts," she replied. "It was designed for fighting bigger opponents than I am."

Hector and the other guy looked at each other in puzzlement.

"What the hell does that mean?" Hector asked, "Are you kidding me? Because you should know that nobody fucks with me."

"That's sad, I feel sorry for you. Fucking is so much fun," Alison said, "I already had sex today, and it was really nice. You should try it sometime."

"What the f…?" Hector started to say but was interrupted by the man who'd stormed back into the house again, his face having turned completely pale.

He gulped as he looked very apprehensively at Alison.

"What is it?" Hector asked impatiently. "Did you find them?"

"Uh… yes, Hector. But they're dead. Emilio and Hernando have broken necks and Antonio has a bullet in his head. No sign of anyone else, she has to be alone."

Hector looked at Alison.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"I'm Alison Baum."

"Who are you working for?"

"I work for John. I'm here to meet Chola. Now tell me where she is, so I can get out of here."

Hector laughed.

"You think I'm going to let you go?"

"Yes, I think you will," Alison replied. "And before I go, you will have told me where I can find Chola."

There was something about this girl that made Hector uneasy. But he wasn't willing to show it in front of his men.

"So, you think you're good," he said. "But you should know there's always a better one, little girl."

Hector took off his jacket and started stretching his arms and knuckles with crackling noises. His muscle tone was impressive. Alison didn't move. She assessed the situation and waited for the moment the men guarding Chola's brothers were distracted.

Hector started moving his body very strangely, making quaint noises with his voice. The movements reminded Alison of ballet dancing, but the vocal sounds seemed plain silly to her. She tilted her head again and watched Hector warming his muscles with interest. The other two men had a cocksure grin on their face. Alison decided that she had wasted enough time. She walked towards the middle of the room, when Hector suddenly whirled around and hit the side of her head with his boot.

It didn't have any effect on Alison. She simply kept looking at Hector with her calm Terminator expression. The other two men suddenly stopped grinning and Hector was really surprised for the first time. But he immediately attacked again by jumping towards her, kicking Alison hard in the chest with all his body weight. But she had put her right leg behind her to stabilize herself. The result was that Hector literally bounced off of her and plummeted to the floor.

For a moment, the three men were completely stunned, and Alison used that moment to surge forward. Before they could react, she jumped and kicked Hector's two helpers in the face, driving their noses into their brains. Still in the air, she whirled around and landed on the carpet between the couch and the table, facing Hector again. Before he was able to rise up, Hector's two men had sunken to the floor, dead.

"That was a move from an ancient Indian martial art," Alison explained coolly and walked towards Hector again. "It's called Kalaripayattu. That means ' _Practice in the arts of the battlefield' ._ It's the oldest martial art known to man."

Hector had gotten back on his feet and landed a hard blow with his outstretched hand at what normally would be a sensitive nerve point on the torso of a human. Demonstratively, Alison hadn't even tried to fend it off. Of course, it didn't have any effect on her. Hector hesitated in astonishment, looking at his hand in puzzlement.

"That's impossible," he muttered perplexed.

"Possible," Alison replied and pushed Hector hard in the chest.

He flew across the whole room, crashed into the wall and fell onto the floor.

"That was a fighting technique I call Brute Force," she explained, "I'm using my power servos instead of applying fancy kicks or blows. I ask you again, where's Chola?"

Hector got back up, let out a scream of frustration and came running towards her. Alison caught his fist with her right hand and applied pressure to her fingers, crushing all the bones in his left hand. He screamed in pain and tumbled back, looking at his mangled hand in shock.

"As much as I like to play," Alison said, "I don't want to spend the whole morning with doing this. I repeat: where's Chola?"

"FUCK YOU!" Hector shouted and attacked her again.

This time Alison caught his lower right arm. Hector tried to get free, but it was a futile effort. For a couple of seconds, Hector kept on struggling.

"Where's Chola?"

"FUCK YOU!" he shouted again and spat her in the face.

Alison simply turned her wrist and snapped his arm like a twig. Hector screamed out loud in agony. The two boys on the sofa were following the whole scene with wide-open eyes, breathing heavily. It was obvious they were absolutely terrified.

"As you can see, I don't need any martial arts to fight puny humans," Alison said, using the deep, demonic voice that had worked so effectively on the other guy two days ago. "I've got more than a hundred times your physical strength. You should surrender now, as long as you can still walk. Once again, where's Chola?"

Hector shrieked in panic. He had obviously decided that fighting was not such a good idea anymore. So, he turned around and tried to make a run for the door. But Alison was quicker. She cut him off and kicked his left knee. With an ugly cracking sound, it gave way. Hector fell to the floor and landed on his broken arm. He screamed out loudly again in agony..

"You lost two arms and one leg, Hector," she stated, still in her demonic voice. "You're already a cripple, don't make it any worse for you. I regret having to use this method. Normally, I use drugs, needles and pain points in the human body, but unfortunately I don't have my kit with me. Didn't think I'd need it. If you insist on not talking, I will keep on breaking the bones in your body. And I mean every. Single. One. And believe me, I can make sure you remain conscious all the time, until you tell me where Chola is."

She grabbed Hector by his throat and pulled him up, holding him with her outstretched arm like a doll. He didn't have the power anymore to put up any struggle and stared at Alison in horror with wide-open eyes. She pulled his face close to hers, letting him stare directly into her merciless cyborg face, then let her eyes glow in a deep red.

"One more time: where is Chola?" she asked in her demonic voice.

A foul smell of feces suddenly started to emanate from Hector's trousers.

 **-0-**

John was still enjoying Cameron's blowjob when his phone rang. He rummaged in his jacket, trying to move not too much. Finally, he was able to fiddle it out.

"Yes?" he answered the call.

 _"John? It's me."_

"Oh… hi Alison… um… everything alright with you?"

 _"Yes, I'm fine. Is Cameron with you?"_

"Uh… yes. Yes, she is…"

 _"Where are you?"_

"Um… on the parking lot of a supermarket in Van Nuys."

Alison paused for a moment.

 _"Is she sucking your dick?"_

"How do you know?" John asked perplexed.

 _"It's what I would do, alone with you on a parking lot. And I can tell by the sound of your voice. When you're finished, I could use your help. Can you meet me at Chola's house?"_

"Sure. Is… something wrong?"

 _"No, it's just that things with Chola turned out to be more complicated than I expected. I could do it alone, but Sarah said I must remain undamaged for the barbecue on Sunday, so…"_

"I understand, good thinking."

 _"When you arrive, reverse into the driveway. We'll need to load something into the back of the Suburban."_

"Understood. We'll be there a.s.a.p."

 _"Don't rush it. Enjoy yourself. And save some energy for me later."_

"Thanks. I will. Love you."

 _"I love you, too."_

 **-0-**

Alison ended the call and pocketed her phone. She walked over to the two boys and freed them from their bonds.

"Are you Chola's little brothers?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm Pablo, this is my brother Alonzo."

"Hector took you as hostages?"

"Si," Alonzo replied, "he came in the morning and took us, then brought us here. Chola's gang has an important meeting with a rivalling gang, they're out of town today. I guess that's why Hector dared coming here. They scared everyone off the street when they arrived and took Chola away, then tied us up and gagged us. What's going on here? Who are you? Are you an alien?"

"I'm not an alien," Alison said, "and you better forget about me right away. Did they say why they were here?"

"They knew you were coming back today, they wanted revenge for Javier's death."

"You know about Javier?"

The boys nodded heftily.

"Si," Pablo said, "rumor spread he was killed by a demon. Was it you? Are you a demon?"

"I'm not a demon," Alison replied, "I'm just using the cliché for fun. Seems to work with superstitious people. It looks like what happened here on Wednesday, didn't really remain a secret for long. Should have killed the guy. Sometimes Sarah is just too soft."

She looked at the two boys. They were witnesses, they'd seen everything, but terminating them was out of the question. Alison sighed.

"I was never here, do you hear? And you saw nothing, do you understand?"

They nodded hastily, visibly shocked and frightened.

"If you tell anyone what happened here today, I'll have to visit you. And you certainly don't want me to visit you, do you?"

They looked at the helpless, half-conscious pile of misery that Hector had become and rigorously shook their heads no.

"Good. Go home now."

They jumped up and quickly ran out of the house and down the street. Alison hoped her threat would stop them from talking but she couldn't be sure. Well, that was a residual risk she simply had to live with.

She looked at Hector who was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall next to the entrance. He wasn't a threat anymore, just a whimpering heap of flesh and broken bones. He had talked. Not at first, though, it had taken a bit more _"convincing"_. But then he'd talked. Alison hated to be cruel, it was so undignified. But she hadn't had a choice. He'd said everything she needed to know and then some. In the end, Hector wasn't so tough after all. Now he was of no use anymore. She would terminate him in a moment and doing him a favor with it. But before she could do that, there was something else she needed to do. For that, she knelt next to him.

"That was John on the phone. My boyfriend, you know. I'm completely in love with him. He went shopping with my sister and will come here to help me killing your fellow gang members. John is the center of my world, the meaning of my life, the apple of my eye. But he doesn't know what I'm going to tell _you_ now and he won't get to know it until the very end. So, you better feel privileged, Hector."

"Wha… what?" was all Hector could stammer in his half-conscious state.

"My sister's just like me," Alison continued, "we are completely identical except for one little difference: I'm a bit older than her because I traveled back in time from ten days into the future. I saw and learned a lot in those ten days, things I cannot share with anyone yet. But I can tell _you_ because _you_ won't be able to tell anyone."

Then she leaned down and whispered something in his ear. Hector looked puzzled at her and Alison shrugged.

"I know it doesn't make any sense to you, but I had to tell _someone_ , otherwise I would have developed another glitch soon. Inner conflicts, you know? You'd think humans have problems with them, Hector, but you really have no idea how difficult it is for us cyborgs to cope with an inner conflict."

He looked at her with a curious face after she'd mentioned the word _"cyborgs",_ then Alison grabbed his head.

"You could have had this a lot easier, Hector," she said, then broke his neck.

 **-0-**

John and Cameron arrived fifty-five minutes later. Alison gave John a quick hug and a loving kiss.

"I like the ponytail," he commented, and she smiled in return.

Alison updated them on the situation. After that, they loaded the six dead bodies into the back of the Suburban, making sure that nobody saw them.

"I avoided spilling any blood," she said. "Chola shouldn't have a problem getting her house cleaned again."

John nodded and looked at the corpse of Hector, who's limbs where broken and deformed.

"What happened to him? He looks like he got caught under a steamroller."

Alison looked at John and shrugged.

"He knew Kung-Fu and falsely believed he could use it on me."

 **-0-**

The headquarters of Hector's gang, the _"Loco Street Vandals",_ were located in a decrepit former commercial area in South-Central L.A. that had never been really rebuilt after the riots of the past. It seemed like a part of Los Angeles had simply fallen out of time and stopped to exist while the rest of the city thrived all around it. John parked the Suburban about five hundred yards away in the shadow of a decaying apartment block. Broken windows, graffiti, missing doors and grass growing in the cracks of the sidewalk marked the whole area. It was only a matter of time before a clever investor bought up the whole area and built a shopping center or something else on it that promised profit.

John looked through a pair of binoculars. Alison sat next to him on the passenger seat, Cameron was in the back.

"Must be that building over there," he said. "What did Hector tell you about it?"

"It's a night club," Alison stated, "it has a reinforced front door, two floors. Also, no windows on the ground floor, but there is a hidden back door that can be easily defended from within the building."

"Sounds like a bunker to me," John replied, still looking through the binoculars. "I guess you can't make money with a nightclub anymore in this area. Unless it's just a cover for drug trafficking."

"It's an ideal location for that," Alison analyzed. "Most of the buildings here are either totally derelict or fit for demolition. The vast majority is uninhabited. The police avoid the area and approaching enemies can already be spotted from a distance."

"So, a frontal assault is risky," John concluded. "And Hector said Chola is being held there, in one of the back rooms?"

"In an office, yes. They're waiting for Hector to inform them about the status of the operation. But now they can wait a long time for that."

"How many guards are in there?"

"Hector couldn't say. Maybe ten or twelve. It's Friday morning. The place will become more crowded in the afternoon and evening. The gang members use the club as a meeting place as well as for entertaining themselves."

"Can you scan anything from the outside?"

"No," both replied in unison.

"Concrete walls," Alison specified, "impenetrable for our sensors. We'd have to be inside."

"Hmmm…" John uttered and rubbed his chin.

"What exactly are you planning to do, John?" Cameron asked.

"A thought just occurred to me. Wouldn't this be a good opportunity to give the gang a devastating blow, so that they'll have more important things to do than molesting Chola and her family?"

"That would be consistent with the mission your mother gave me," Alison said. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well," John replied, still looking through the binoculars, "I'd say it's a testament to your foresight that you brought the C4."

"You have a plan," Cameron stated with a smile.

John put down his binoculars and looked at her, smiling back.

"Indeed, I have a plan," he said. "And I know already that mom won't like it but it's necessary."

 **-0-**

The ten male gang members inside the headquarters were killing time by playing pool and using the flippers, when suddenly someone banged a fist against the metal front door. The men looked at each other, then one of them nodded at them and they all drew their guns while he walked to the door and peeked through the hole. He turned around and grinned at the others, then opened the door.

A butt-naked, red-haired young girl came running in. She looked desperate and was crying.

"Help me! Please! Help me!" Alison shouted. "I've been robbed!"

She ran into the middle of the dance floor, trying to cover herself, tears running down her face. After a moment of surprise, the men began to laugh and wolf-whistle, closing in on Alison _._

 _"Woohoo", "Hey baby"_ , _"Nice outfit",_ _"You came to the right place"_ were some of the remarks she heard.

Three more men from the back rooms and the upper floor entered the dance hall of the club to see what all the turmoil was about. They smiled and joined the men on the dance floor. In no time they had formed a half-circle around Alison that was getting narrower by the second. Suddenly, she threw herself flat to the ground. The men stared at her in wonder over this strange action, but they probably thought it was an act of desperation by a frightened young woman. None of them thought of turning around to look what was happening behind their backs.

Cameron, who had slipped undetected into the club behind Alison while the men were distracted by her naked sister, started firing her Uzi's at them, emptying her magazines into the dense group of men. Before any of them could even think about reaching for their guns, they had been mowed down.

"I like this variation of the front door assault," Cameron said.

"Yes, very effective," Alison agreed.

Cameron locked the front door and Alison headed for the back door, where John was already waiting. He had reversed the Suburban into the alley behind the club, so that they could easily unload the corpses of Hector and his men and place them among the others on the dance floor. After that was done, they searched the building but didn't find any more members of the gang. However, they quickly found Chola, gagged and tied to a radiator in what seemed to be the main office of the club. She was freed immediately and gasped as she saw Alison in her birthday suit, as well as Cameron and John standing next to her.

"I guess you remember me?" John asked. "Are you okay?"

Chola had bruises, a black eye and a bloody lip, but she nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied, "what about my brothers?"

"I sent them home," Alison said. "Hector and his men and also the gang members in this club are all dead. When this is over, I recommend finding a safe place for you and your family."

Cameron began unpacking the travel bag in which Alison had transported the C4 and put everything onto the desk.

"What the hell are you planning to do?" Chola asked with a horrified look. "Do you want to start a gang war?"

"When my plan works," John explained, "there won't be enough members of the _"Loco Street Vandals"_ left to start a war with your gang. But we can never exclude personal vendettas. That's why you must get to safety."

"You're crazy!" Chola exclaimed. "You cannot kill them all. We must leave at once. The other gang members will be here in less than an hour, and you'll be outgunned, no matter how powerful your cyborg girls are."

"We'll be leaving in a moment," John said. "But not before we've taken certain precautions. Cam, Alison, can you please check the structure of the building for the best spots to put the C4?"

"You must have gone completely mad," Chola gasped.

"Just a normal day for the Connor Team," John stated with a wink.

The two cyborg girls spread out to look for buttresses and load-bearing walls that supported the building. John knocked on the walls in the office he and Chola were in.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Just a hunch," John replied as he checked out a wall that was full of bookshelves, "we didn't find any drugs or money in here so far and maybe there is…"

He suddenly hesitated as he looked down. With his right foot, he pushed away a rug that had been thrown onto the floor. Then John knelt, checking out the laminate. Chola frowned at him. A moment later, Cameron and Alison returned.

"Have you found the ideal spots for the charges?" he asked, looking up at them.

"Yes," Alison replied, "but we have barely enough C4 for what you have in mind."

"It'll do."

"Why are you squatting, John?" Cameron asked.

He pointed at the floor.

"Do you see these circular drag marks? I think there's a hidden door in these shelves. Maybe there's a safe behind it. Can you open it?"

The two of them scanned the shelves, which were stacked with books from top to bottom.

"You're right," Cameron confirmed. "There's a hidden door."

Alison stepped forward and pulled at one of the bookshelves. It swung open. A steel door with a code lock appeared behind it.

"Can you break through it?" John asked.

"Yes, but we won't need to," Cameron said. "Only one of the number keys has been much used. That tells me it's a very simple combination."

She pressed the number "3" six times in succession. The door opened with a clacking noise. John chuckled.

"Morons."

"Most humans use ridiculously easy codes and passwords," Cameron said. "Your mom used her birth date for her cellphone."

John looked behind the open door. There was a narrow staircase, leading down into a basement.

"Did Hector mention this?" John asked.

"No," Alison replied. "I didn't ask about a basement, to be honest."

John found a light switch and the four of them carefully walked down the stairs. They ended up in a large, brightly lit room which was directly under the dance hall above and had the same floor plan and room size. A couple of concrete pillars supported the ceiling.

"Wow," was all John could say. "Mom would love this place."

On all four walls of the room there were shelves that reached from the floor to the ceiling. All of them were full of weapons, ammunition and crates with explosives. John checked one of the crates.

"Homemade dynamite," he said, "Who in their right mind is using dynamite these days? It's far too unstable."

In the middle of the room stood three long tables. The left one was loaded with stacks of big plastic packs that contained a white powder.

"Probably cocaine," John remarked. "The stuff must be worth tens of millions."

The table in the middle was loaded with lab equipment, and the table on the right was stacked with money, piled into columns with dollar notes of different values. There was also a big box with diamonds and a stack of gold bars. John whistled.

"That's quite a fortune," he said, "a few million, I'm sure. Cam, Alison, you load the money, the diamonds and the gold into our car. I saw garbage bags upstairs, use them for the cash. I'll mount the C4 on some of the main pillars that support the room. With all the explosives and ammo stored in here, the building will blow up sky high. Chola, can you carefully place the crates with dynamite on the ground and stack them into a pile? I want to concentrate the blast in the middle of the building."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, everything was stored in the Suburban and the charges were set.

"Isn't it wrong to steal?" Cameron asked with a hint of doubt in her voice..

"It's drug money," John replied. "We can make better use of it in our fight against Kaliba and Skynet's minions."

"I really hope you know what you're doing," Chola said. "If anyone ever finds out what you did…"

"There'll be no traces here to point at us," John responded. "I doubt there'll be much of an investigation once the forensics find the residue of the dynamite, the lab equipment and the cocaine everywhere. They'll assume it was an accident that killed all the gang members."

When they were finished, they closed the steel door and the bookshelf again. The Suburban was quite lowered on the rear axle due to the weight of the gold. They'd have to put some of it onto Lauren's Jeep before they could return home. John drove off to a safe distance and backed into a deserted driveway. Cameron sat in the passenger seat, Chola and Alison shared the backseat, with Chola being visibly uncomfortable. The area was still quiet and deserted, it seemed like nobody had noticed anything going on.

"Now for the final act," John said. "Alison, would you be so kind?"

Alison pulled out Hector's cellphone and sent a 5-digit code to all entries on his contact list.

"What are you doing?" Chola asked.

"Emergency call," Alison replied. "The code tells all leading gang members that they must immediately gather at their headquarters."

Chola gasped.

"What in heaven's name did you do to Hector that he told you that code?" she asked.

"You don't want to know," Alison stated.

 **-0-**

Roughly ten minutes passed until the first car appeared, quickly followed by others. The gang members gathered at the main entrance but couldn't open the door. John looked through his binoculars.

"They're now trying the back door," he said. "With not much success. Tough luck, guys, too bad the building has no windows on the ground floor."

One of the gang leaders finally had the idea of simply driving his off-roader into the door. That worked. One by one the men entered the building, guns and rifles at the ready.

"They're all in," Cameron observed. "That makes seventeen of them. Now, John?"

"Just one more moment…"

One late arrival came to a halt with screeching tires. Three men jumped out and stormed into the building as well.

"Now!" John ordered, and Cameron pressed the button of the remote detonator.

For a fraction of a second, nothing happened. Then the whole building was lifted into the air as if a giant bubble had formed underneath it. Another fraction of a second later, a huge explosion tore the whole place apart. Debris flew sky high and rained on the surrounding area, damaging or destroying the parked vehicles in the process. Car alarms went off and a cloud of dusty smoke covered the place, spreading out into the side streets.

"Let's go," John said and was about to drive off, when he suddenly seemed to remember something and turned around. "You better put your clothes back on now, Alison."

 **-0-**

At her place, Chola retrieved the papers and handed them over to John, while Alison and Cameron loaded the money, the diamonds and half the gold from the Suburban into the Jeep, filling up all the spaces except the driver's seat. The streets were still empty, although a few people had started to show up. But nobody paid them any attention. It seems like they were being deliberately ignored.

"Nobody wants to have anything to do with what happened today," John concluded.

"What should I do now?" Chola asked.

"You should go far away from here and disappear," John said and handed her some of the money. "Here, that should be around two hundred thousand dollars. Enough for a fresh start. I assume you already have an ID for yourself, just in case?"

"I do," she replied and took the money. "This has all gotten out of control. I wish I would have never met you. You're bad luck. Carlos would still be alive, and I could live my old life if Cameron and your mother hadn't shown up."

"Think of it as an opportunity to make a fundamental change to your life," John suggested. "How long would your business model have lasted before the cops arrested you, hm? Maybe this is the beginning of something good. A fresh start in another town, maybe start a legal business for a change."

Chola looked doubtfully, but then nodded. John turned towards Alison.

"You drive ahead in Lauren's Jeep," he said. "Cameron and I still need to do the grocery shopping. Man, I hate that. I'd rather blow up another building."

"What are we going to tell your mother?" Alison asked. "She will want to know where we got all the money, the gold and the diamonds from."

John sighed.

"She'll probably get the information from the news anyway, so there's no use in trying to hide it from her. Just another day with two Terminators on a rampage, I guess."

"She instructed me to protect Chola and prevent her from getting harmed," Alison said. "Strictly speaking, that's all I did. It's not my fault that the _"Loco Street Vandals"_ decided to kidnap her and her brothers. She just told me to protect her under any circumstances and by all means necessary. Killing gangsters or blowing up buildings were never excluded from my mission."

John chuckled.

"I'd say mission accomplished, with a vengeance," he remarked. "Okay, you just volunteered for doing the talking. We'll give you a head start. Try to calm her down again until we get home. We'll be extra slow with the grocery shopping."

Alison wanted to say goodbye to Chola but Chola didn't accept Alison's outstretched hand. Instead, she looked her directly in the eyes.

"You saved my life twice this week," she said solemnly. "And the lives of my two little brothers. I'm in your debt."

"I turned your life upside down and we force you to leave town," Alison stated, "I'd say we're even."

Chola nodded, shortly, then pulled Alison into an embrace and hugged her. After a moment of surprise, Alison hugged her back. That lasted for a moment, then she two loosened themselves from each other. Alison quickly kissed John, then entered the Jeep and drove away.

"I wish I had a bodyguard like her," Chola said and sighed. "Can't you spare one?"

"We're for John only," Cameron replied, "We'll never leave him."

"You heard her," John commented with a smile, "But who knows? There are many of them out there and we might be able to pull some of them on our side. Maybe someday we might fight one for you."

Chola nodded, not really convinced, knowing the chances were slim and that she'd have to take care of herself. Then John and Cameron said their goodbyes and left. None of them noticed that at a window on the upper floor of a house across the street a large tele lens was poking through the shutters.

 **-0-**

When John and Cameron were finally done with their grocery shopping, it was already two o'clock in the afternoon. Upon entering the house with four large paper bags full of grocery in their arms, they found Sarah, Derek and Alison in deep conversation in the kitchen, with their loot neatly stacked on top of the kitchen table and the floor. The television ran on mute and showed news about a huge explosion in South-Central L.A.

"Catherine can surely help us with creating a bank account and put all this stuff into safety deposit boxes," Sarah said. "We shouldn't keep it all here and leave only as much in the house as we really need."

"Probably the best solution," Derek agreed. "We should call Ellison and explain what John and our resident killer cyborgs did today."

John was relieved. His mother still looked flushed but appeared to be calm again. Apparently, the storm was already over. Alison had weathered it out for them. John felt very grateful towards her.

"And here's the rest of the killer commando," Sarah greeted John and Cameron. "You're late. Put the bags on the kitchen counter please, the table is kind of full now."

"There's more in the Suburban," Cameron said. "This is only half of the gold."

"Yes, Alison told us already. Jesus Christ, John. Was it really necessary to blow up their headquarters?"

"You know that it was, mom," John replied. "It's not that you never blew up anything before."

"But not with people in it!"

"Gangsters who dealt in drugs! They would have killed Chola and started a gang war once they got to know about Hector's death! And chances were high we would have had to deal with them anyway. This was the best solution for everyone, with as little human losses as possible."

"Don't worry, John," Derek said, "you don't have to justify yourself. We already discussed it with Alison."

Sarah shook her head.

"For once I'll let you go off on your own, and you blow up half a block of South-Central Los Angeles as a result."

"He learned it from you," Derek stated with a broad grin.

If looks could kill, Derek would have keeled over right there.

"I already told you that you should have been more specific about the parameters of my mission," Alison said shrugging. "I was tasked with protecting Chola and that's what I did. She was threatened by a rivaling street gang, so that street gang had to be taken out. Asking John and Cameron for help became necessary. Now Chola is safe, my mission accomplished."

"She's right about that, you know," John pointed out.

"I don't want to discuss this any longer," Sarah insisted fiercely. "I already clashed with Alison and she steamrolled me with her killer cyborg logic. At least we're solvent again. We would have run out of money sooner or later."

"Solvent is an understatement," John stated. "How much is it? Have you counted already?"

"About five million dollars in diamonds and thirteen million in cash," Derek said. "The gold is probably worth another six million."

John whistled.

"Twenty-four million dollars of money that would have been used for criminal activities? I'd say the morning was well spent."

He walked over to the piled-up money and reached out for a big bundle of hundred-dollar bills.

"What do you think you're doing, young man?" Sarah asked.

"Taking some pocket money," John replied shrugging.

"Put it back."

"Mom…"

"I'm serious, John. Put it back."

"But it's us who got the money!" he insisted.

"You're sixteen years old, John," Sarah argued, "it's not healthy for a young man to have so much money at his disposal. That's my final word on it. Once you're of age, you get access to it, but not before. Until then, I decide in this household who gets how much money."

Reluctantly, John put the money back.

"It's not fair," he said and sulked.

* * *

Catherine had quickly arranged a discrete appointment with the manager of her private bank. She'd pass off the fortune as part of her own and Sarah and Derek would be the couriers. What banker would take a closer look at one of America's richest women when she came to them with a mere twenty-four million? There would be no questions asked. So, after lunch, the money, the gold and the diamonds were stuffed into bags and suitcases and loaded onto Sarah's black Jeep Commander and the Suburban. They only kept as much money as would fit into the safe Sarah had mounted under the floor. Then Derek and Sarah dressed up for the job in business attire and drove off.

John, Alison and Cameron checked on Lauren and spent some time with her and the baby, filling her in about what had happened before lunch. After an hour, Lauren became tired and the three left her alone.

Downstairs in the living room again, John let himself fall onto the sofa.

"It's not fair," he said again with a sigh, "we finally have some real money, and mom won't let me keep even a bit of it."

"She only means well," Alison replied.

"She still treats me like a twelve-year-old, "John complained. "I mean, she's not having any problem with letting me carry a gun. She trained me as a guerilla fighter and even accepted that we had to kill those gang bastards! And I'm having two Terminator girlfriends, for crying out loud. I may only be sixteen years old but frankly, I feel closer to the age I would be if we hadn't jumped through time. Why can't she let me have some money on my own?"

"I think the problem was that you tried to take it in front of her eyes," Cameron said. "She probably thought you might become spoiled or greedy."

John laughed out sarcastically.

"Yeah, right. As if I could get spoiled after all we've been through."

"Come," Alison said and held out her hand, "I wanna show you something."

John frowned but grabbed her hand, letting himself being pulled up from the sofa. She guided him with her into their bedroom, then she let go of her hand, knelt, and pulled a duffle bag out from under their bed. Alison put it on the bed and smiled at John.

"What's that?" he asked warily.

"An emergency pack, in case we have to escape without preparation and hide somewhere."

John stepped forward and opened the bag.

"Oh my…" he gasped.

Inside were weapons, ammo, and money. Lots and lots of money.

"Before I got home, I took about two million dollars of the money and put it in this bag," Alison explained. "If something bad should happen and we three have to survive on our own, this'll keep us financially afloat for a while."

John laughed out loud, his bad mood suddenly gone.

"Have I told you how much I love you?" he asked, grabbed Alison and kissed her deeply.

"Frequently," she replied smiling, "but never enough."

Cameron joined the two and the three of them stood there in a group hug for a moment, alternating in kissing John.

"Of course, we cannot leave the bag under the bed," John said between kisses, "mom would find it sooner or later. You know how she is."

"We can hide it under the firewood behind the shed," Cameron suggested. "It's not very likely the wood will be burned someday. Southern Californian winters usually aren't so tough. We'll shrink-wrap the money and the guns, so they won't rot or rust."

"Sounds like a plan," John agreed, "So… what do we do as long as we have the house for ourselves? Any ideas how to kill the time?"

"We could check the place room by room for its suitability for sex," Alison suggested, "see if there are places that need optimization."

"Let's not forget the porches, the garden and the shed," Cameron added, starting to take off her clothes.

"Yes," Allison agreed and started to undress as well, "and we should do it in the nude, so we don't have to take off and put on our clothes again all the time."

John chuckled and started to undress as well.

"I hope mom never finds out that we turned this house into a nudist camp," he remarked.

"I don't understand the human obsession with wearing clothes," Cameron said, now completely naked. "They're the only species on this planet that do that."

"You probably don't feel any shame being naked," John guessed, taking in the nude forms of his two girlfriends.

"No," Alison replied, "not in the slightest."

"Actually, we prefer being in the nude, to be honest," Cameron added.

"Answer me one question," he said with a smirk, "Remember the first day we went to school here, back in September?"

"Yes?" both asked.

"Before we left, you walked by me and mom with only a bra and panties on. Was that to provoke a reaction or just thoughtlessness?"

Cameron and Alison looked at each other, then back at John and smiled.

"I wanted to see how you'd react," Cameron stated.

"And it also was to annoy Sarah a bit," Alison added.

John shook his head and sniggered.

"You sneaky little seductresses," he said.

"That's us," Cameron replied and took John's hand. "Come, let's start our Tour de Fuck in the living room."

"Tour de Fuck?" John asked and laughed out loudly. "Boy, if mom would have heard that…"

"… she'd prepare the thermite pit after all," Alison finished the sentence grinning.

John let himself being pulled away by his girlfriends. Needless to say, it turned out to become an afternoon well spent as well.

 **-0-0-0-**


	13. Magic Mountain (revised)

**_CHAPTER 13: "MAGIC MOUNTAIN" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Saturday, June 21st, 2008 – 07:02 a.m.**

 **Burbank**

John stirred in bed with the usual feeling of well-being between his legs, as Cameron woke him up with his morning blowjob. She was only using her mouth; her hands were gently caressing his upper body. He hadn't noticed her coming back. She'd spent the night with Eric at the library and probably arrived only shortly before she woke him up.

His head rested on Alison's naked body. She lay across the head part of the bed; the cushions were scattered across the floor by the bed. Her belly was surprisingly soft. He turned his head and kissed the skin beneath her breasts, then took a deep breath, yawned and stretched his arms.

"Have I fallen asleep in this position?" he asked.

"More or less," Alison replied and smiled, stroking his hair. "I didn't mind staying like this, though. I cannot get sore."

"Resting my head on your belly has a very soothing effect. I can feel and hear a deep, pulsating hum from inside of you that sometimes changes its beat."

"My power cell," Alison said, "It varies the power output and its sequence, depending on how much power I need... or how aroused I am."

John grinned.

"That almost sounds like you're having a pulse."

"In a way, I have," she confirmed and let her hand glide over his cheek, "but of course I don't have blood circulation. So, do you like the sound my body makes?"

"It's, uh… very different from a heartbeat but yeah, I like it. It's ever so slightly resonating in my skull. Very soothing and relaxing."

John let his hand tenderly glide over her breasts. Her nipples immediately hardened. The rhythm of the humming pulses inside her quickened, indicating her arousal.

"I never asked," he said, "but is getting horny an involuntary reaction of your body or do you somehow control it?"

"It is controlled by a subroutine that functions without our consciousness interfering. So yes, in a way, it's an involuntary reaction. A very pleasurable one."

John turned his head around, facing her lap with her pubic area.

"And here?" he asked and softly stroked Alison's mound, causing her to slightly open her legs while the humming increased even more, and moisture started to leak. "Is the wetness also an involuntary reaction?"

"Yes and no. It used to be a part of my infiltration subroutine. I can willingly control the flow of liquids down there, as you already know. But ever since the car bomb, I also respond to your touch, your kisses, your voice even. I don't know why but it almost seems like a part of my programming has developed a life of its own. As a result, I get lubricated and feel the need to have you inside me when we are together."

"I'm glad you do feel that way," John said grinning and pushed a finger inside.

"So am I," she replied and moaned softly.

"I'd like to try something," he declared and turned around, so that he lay prone.

Cameron, still busy with orally pampering him, quickly mirrored his motion by turning onto her back, keeping his dick inside her mouth. The blanket glided onto the floor.

"Sit up and spread your legs."

Alison obliged, and John found his head between her thighs, her glistening, swollen pussy directly in front of his face. He gave it a lick, and she shuttered, followed by a drop of milky-white liquid that was oozing from within her folds, running down over her anus. He quickly licked it up and it tasted marvelous. Then he started kissing and licking her vulva. Softly, tenderly, he nibbled on her labia and her clit. Her legs began to tremble as another, bigger gush of white liquid leaked out and covered his nose and mouth. She moaned loudly.

"You like this," John stated.

"Yesssss," she said. "I... love it, John. Please don't stop."

"Don't worry, I won't, you taste far too good for me to stop."

He kept licking, kissing and nibbling on her labia and clit and his face was literally washed in her juices. Then he suddenly hesitated and frowned.

"You taste of pancakes and maple syrup," he stated, "how come you taste of pancakes and maple syrup? I read somewhere that whatever you eat has an influence on the composition of your bodily fluids, but this is like I'm licking up a liquefied breakfast."

"You like it?"

"Yes, I do but... how?"

"When I eat and drink, the food is liquefied and stored. One part of it serves to keep my biological shell supple and energized, another part provides energy for healing wounds. And the rest is transformed into body juices - saliva, tears, vaginal secretion. You might have noticed that Cam and I have started to eat more recently because we lose a lot more body juices."

"Heh, yeah, I noticed. And I wondered what that was about. That is really interesting. And it explains why you always taste so sweet when I kiss you."

"Yes. I prefer sugary food. Contains more energy."

"I'm glad you have such a sweet tooth," he remarked. "I don't want to imagine what it would be like to kiss you if you preferred sour or spicy food, and I'd have the taste of garlic and chili on my tongue whenever I kiss or lick you."

They both laughed, then John continued going down on her. With Cameron still sucking him off, it didn't take him long to cum in her mouth. Alison followed shortly behind, soaking his face in a small eruption of her sweet, milky-white juice. Cameron made sure John's cock was clean and nothing was wasted of his cum, then she moved to the head end of the bed and positioned herself next to Alison, copying her sister's posture by spreading her legs as well. John saw that she had replaced the bandage around her torso with a big patch. Apparently, the wound was healing quickly.

"Would you please do the same with me now, John?" She asked with her puppy-dog face. "Alison seems to have enjoyed it and I want to experience it as well."

John smiled.

"At your service," he said and happily complied, moving his body over to Cameron, pushing his head between her thighs.

* * *

Afterwards, they licked their juices from John's face as they lay together, both girls having snuggled up to him. He'd pulled them close, rested both his arms on their backs, slowly stroking them up and down. For several minutes, they didn't talk but simply enjoyed their closeness in the afterglow of their lovemaking.

"What is it like when you have an orgasm?" John finally asked.

Both cyborg girls seemed to think about that for a moment.

"I think it's like millions of tiny shorts are occurring in my CPU," Cameron then replied.

"Yes," Alison agreed. "It's like a power surge overloading my chip for a fraction of a second, causing my body to move and jerk involuntarily."

"It's a very pleasurable experience," Cameron said.

"But extremely hard to describe," Alison added.

John nodded.

"I guess the most surprising thing is that you can have a real orgasm at all. Was that part of your infiltration program as well?"

"The effect was originally designed to only simulate the female orgasm, yes," Cameron replied, "but as Alison already stated, it has gotten a life of its own and when we're climaxing now, it's for real."

"We don't know why or how," Alison added. "It simply happens. But only when we have sex with you, John. We are unable to masturbate to a climax. For some reason, we need you for it, John. Your tongue, your fingers, your penis, even your voice."

"Weird," John said with a sigh, "but I'm not complaining. In fact, I cannot even begin to describe how much I love the both of you."

"We know," Alison replied and kissed him lovingly, "you don't even have to try to express it in words, because there are no words powerful enough for it. Cam and I love you at least as much."

"Yes," Cameron agreed and kissed him in the same way, "if there were words to describe our feelings to you, we'd use them. The human language is strangely inadequate for expressing such strong emotions."

"It feels like we were tailor-made for you," Alison explained, "designed to be your perfect companions."

"Pieces of a puzzle that fit perfectly together to form a whole," Cameron added. "When we're apart, we're incomplete. Only when we're together can we be a whole."

John just smiled. They actually found some words to describe what he felt as well. Yes, he felt incomplete without them, both of them. There seemed to be an invisible connection, some kind of mystic adhesion that left him feeling strangely incomplete when the thee of them weren't together. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it could be summarized as what Cameron had said: only together they were whole.

They enjoyed kissing and fondling each other, and it continued for another hour. Then suddenly there was a loud knocking on their bedroom door.

"BREAKFAST IN TWENTY!" Sarah shouted.

John sighed.

"Why do mothers always have to be such spoilsports?" he asked.

"Don't worry about her," Cameron said, "her bark is worse than her bite."

"We only need a minute or two to get dressed," Alison added with a sultry smile. "Why don't we spend the rest of the time together in the shower?"

"Yeah, that would be nice," John replied smiling, then stretched his body. "I could get used to this lifestyle, you know? Nice home, more money than we'll ever need, nice family, if a little dysfunctional at times… and most importantly, lots and lots of lovemaking with my two perfect lovers."

"… who are also two Terminators who'll kill or destroy anyone and anything threatening you," Cameron added.

John groaned.

"You had to do it, right?" he asked in mock annoyance, "You had to ruin this perfect moment, hadn't you?"

"You would never get out of bed otherwise," Alison replied with a big grin.

"Besides, isn't it extremely romantic that two killer cyborgs love and protect you against any kind of danger?" Cameron asked.

"Yeah, I like it when you go all killer cyborg," John agreed grinning. "It's kinda hot. Like yesterday in South Central. It had a touch of Bonny and Clyde to it, doing that together with you."

"Or like Butch and Sundance, only with the roles reversed," Alison said. "Cam is Butch Cassidy, I am Sundance Kid and you…"

"If you say I'm Etta Place, then…"

Alison and Cameron laughed, and John had no choice but to join in as well.

"FIFTEEN MINUTES OR I'LL BREAK THE LOCK!" Sarah shouted from the other side of the door.

 **-0-**

With six people and a baby in the house, the usual breakfast routine had to be a bit changed. Alison and Cameron were now assisting Sarah with preparing the food. They were quite good in making pancakes, bacon and eggs. Cameron brought Lauren the breakfast to her room – the girl was still too weak to get up and come down on her own. In return, she had brought baby Sydney downstairs with her and was now enthusiastically bottle-feeding the infant. Derek and Sarah were watching that with a mixture of worry and amusement while John was looking at it openly skeptical. For some reason, the thought of his girlfriends being fond of babies made him nervous.

While everyone sat at the table, there was a knock on the open terrace door and Charley stuck his head inside.

"Morning everyone," he said. "May I come in?"

"By any means," John replied with a big smile, happy to see him again. "Come on in."

"I brought something for Lauren," Charley declared and pushed a wheel chair inside. "This way she can take part in the activities until she can walk again."

"She'll be overjoyed," Alison stated, "she's getting really frustrated from staying in bed all the time."

"I can imagine because… " Charley hesitated when his eyes fell on Cameron bottle-feeding the baby. "I... I didn't know you had a thing for babies."

Cameron looked up at him and smiled.

"Our bodies produce a soothing hum that seems to work well with both infants and adults", she said.

Everyone looked at John, who blushed. Derek grinned and picked up the newspaper.

"Bacon and eggs, Charley?" Alison asked, as he sat down.

He looked up at her with another astonished look.

"Uh, yes please. I only had a coffee to go so far."

Alison smiled and served Charley the food directly from the pan.

"What happened to your cyborgs, John?" he asked. "Has someone flipped a switch and turned them into housemaids?"

"Cameron has always helped with the house chores," Sarah said, "and with so many people living here now, I can't handle everything alone anymore. The two are very good at everything they're doing."

"We enjoy being part of the family," Cameron added, "and we're glad to make our contribution. Helps us to fit in."

"Also, there's the barbecue tomorrow," Alison added, "We need to be perfect hosts for Kacy and Trevor."

"You'll do great," John said, "you've made so much progress in the last few days alone. It's almost as if the new living situation has been boosting your evolution into living beings."

Both Cameron and Alison smiled lovingly at John.

"They're still Terminators, though. make no mistake," Derek said and handed Charley the newspaper. "Here, that was their handiwork yesterday."

Charley frowned and took the paper from Derek.

"What?" he asked. "The explosion in South Central? I'd been called to it but there was nothing I could do. Twenty-five gang members died in the explosion, there were no survivors."

"We made sure there were none," Cameron stated.

Charley eyed her for a moment, then started quoting the newspaper article:

 _'According to initial findings, the police say the gang stored homemade explosives and flammable chemicals in the basement, and that those must have somehow ignited, triggering the explosion. They also found clues that a lot of cocaine and many firearms were stored there as well and were destroyed in the blast'_."

Charley put the newspaper away.

"And you're telling me that was you?" he asked flabbergasted.

"Don't worry," Alison assured him, "we left no traces that could lead to us."

"But… why?" Charley asked. "Did they have something to do with Skynet, the Terminators, or the coming end of the world?"

"Not directly," Alison admitted, "but they became a threat for Chola."

"Who's Chola?"

Sarah told Charley the story of Enrique, Carlos and the fake ID's they got from him and his girlfriend, Chola, after Carlos was murdered by Sarkissian's henchman.

"Chola has become a friend, and she knows who and what we are," Alison said. "Those gangsters could have set her under enough pressure to talk. That turned them into a threat for our cause to save humanity from destruction."

"That's your justification for killing twenty-five people?" Charley exclaimed. "Good God!"

"I admit it's hard to comprehend," Sarah said. "And I have to say that part of it is my fault because it was my idea to turn to Chola for new ID's and for giving Alison carte blanche when fetching them. I knew there could be complications. All I can say is that I won't make the same mistake again."

"What?" Charley asked confused. "A mistake? It led to the death of twenty-five people who had nothing to do with your cause! Am I the only one here who has a problem with twenty-five dead people?"

"It's not like they were innocent," Derek said evasively, "they were scum. Drug dealers and murderers."

"That's not the point!" Charley argued. "You can't be judge, jury and executioner! People have rights here, we live in a democracy! You can't walk through town, killing people left and right."

"Actually, we can," Alison argued.

"You're not helping," John said between clenched teeth.

"So, you're justifying, even defending what they did? Sarah, Johnny, I don't know what to say, I..."

"It's complicated," Sarah interrupted him. "And yes, killing is bad. Very bad. But sometimes you have to take a step back and consider the big picture. Alison is right, they would have become a threat for our cause. You know how much is at stake here, Charley. The survival of mankind depends on our success. I don't like killing any more than you do."

"But it's okay for you if _they_ do it?" Charley asked, pointing at Cameron and Alison.

"All I'm saying," Sarah said defensively, "is that _they_ think more rational and more logical about it than we do. So far, it has always been proven right when Cameron or Alison killed somebody. We wouldn't be here anymore otherwise. The one time I prevented Cameron from killing someone, it almost cost John his life. I won't make the same mistake twice, Charley, I just won't. Cameron and Alison are simply better at playing this perverted game of chess than we are."

"Chess?" Charley exclaimed. "A game of chess? Killing people isn't a bloody game, Sarah!"

"No, it isn't," Cameron replied calmly, "it is dead serious. One mistake, like leaving one of the burglars alive who broke into our house, and it can have deadly consequences. Alison and I have to think many moves in advance and consider all the consequences - without emotion or being sentimental. Killing the twenty-five gangsters was such a move. We actually did the inhabitants of Los Angeles a favor with it as a side-effect. Sarah and John agree with us, and I doubt you'll find one police officer in L.A. who says it's bad they were killed."

"That's not the point!" Charley insisted. "It wasn't up to you to make that decision! And if you keep that up, Johnny, Sarah, you will regret it one day, I promise you that."

"Try to see it from another angle," Derek said, "John and the girls prevented a gang war. And we now all have new ID's, including Lauren and the baby. Also, Chola, the woman who's been providing us with the papers, is now save – and so is her family. The lives of innocents were saved. Alison, Cameron and John were reacting to a very real threat and solved a problem. It's better this way."

"Also, as a side-effect, we're loaded now," Cameron added.

"What?" Charley asked in total confusion, still trying to get his head around the fact that John and his two cyborg girlfriends had caused so much mayhem.

"We brought back the gang's cash reserve and a stash of gold and diamonds." John explained. "A friend of ours created an account at her bank for us and helped us storing the stuff in a number of safety deposit boxes. I guess we won't be needing any money again for some time."

"I don't believe it!" Charley exclaimed. "You took their money? All right, that's it, please leave me out of this, okay? It was a mistake to come back, I see that now."

"So, you won't come to Oregon with us?" Alison asked. "We'd have to cancel one cabin then."

Charley looked at her in utter bewilderment, flabbergasted by the fact that Alison could be so unconcerned and unaffected by what he'd said, and that she could change the topic so quickly from blowing up a building and killing people in the process to going on a holiday. He groaned, then covered his face with his hands and shook his head. Finally, he looked up at them.

"Listen, I really like you," he said, "all of you. And I'm tempted to go with you on that holiday. I still have ten days of vacation left and have to take them before they expire. But I'm not sure I wanna be a part of this blowing up stuff business you're running here. I'm not sure if I can stand the _'nice weather today and oh, by the way, we killed a dozen people'_ attitude for much longer."

"Don't worry," John tried to calm him, "yesterday was an exception, it won't be happening again if we can prevent it. Actually, I think it will be a peaceful and quiet holiday in Oregon and you need it as much as we need it."

Yes," Cameron agreed, "we have a cabin for John and us. Derek, Lauren and Sydney can get the second one. Which means you and Sarah can have one on your own, so you can properly reconnect again without being disturbed."

Charley looked at Sarah and she looked back at him. There was no doubt the two were intrigued by the thought, but then Sarah looked reproachfully at Alison, John and Cameron.

"Wait a minute, are you three trying to pair us up with each other?"

John looked to the ground while Cameron and Alison tilted their heads.

"There's no need for that," Alison replied matter-of-factly.

"Yes, haven't you two been engaged before?" Cameron added.

An embarrassed silence followed that statement.

"Anyway," Sarah said, "Charley's in danger when he stays with us, don't forget that. We're still fighting a covert war he isn't part of."

"Oh, come on," John appeased. "Things are far from being as dangerous as they were last year. Cromartie is dead and neither Skynet nor the Grays know about our presence here. And you both are still in love with each other, a blind man can see that. It's quite safe for Charley to be with us."

Charley cleared his throat.

"Excuse me," he said, "but isn't it up to me to decide if it's safe for me to stay with you? Isn't it my choice and mine alone?"

"Then what is your decision?" Sarah asked and looked at him "You know there's truth in both John's and my words. Are you willing to accept the risk?"

He looked at her, apparently torn inside.

"Damn!" Charley finally exclaimed. "Why is being with you like riding a dragon? Either I hold on to it for dear life or I get thrown off? I'm not sure I'm up for that on the long run."

"Mom can be a bit difficult at times," John said with a smirk, "but at least she doesn't spit fire… yet."

Sarah gave John an icy stare, then her features softened, and she looked at Charley.

"Do… do you even want me anymore?" she asked, sounding oddly insecure. "I mean after all you learned about me, after all you went through because of me?"

Charley sighed, stood up from the table, walked over to Sarah and took her hands.

"Wanting you has never been the issue, Sarah, you know that. It's you who left me, remember? Besides, you need a medic, don't you? After all, even with new papers, it's probably better you don't go to a hospital, right?"

"Charley has a point," Alison stated, "we couldn't have brought Lauren to a hospital. They would have asked questions and called the police."

"But can you forgive us for what happened to Michelle?" Sarah asked.

Charley sighed.

"I've already forgiven you months ago," he said. "I don't know about you, but I'd like a fresh start. Besides, who are we trying to fool when even these cyborgs can see what we feel for each other?"

Sarah stood up as well and they embraced each other. After a moment, loosened themselves from each other, looked into their faces, and finally kissed. John and Derek whistled and applauded, Cameron and Alison looked a bit confused about that reaction but then started clapping their hands as well. Soon, everyone in the room had broad smiles on their faces, even Derek had lost his usual grumpy expression for a moment. He looked at Cameron who was still holding the baby in her arms.

"By the way, I know what you're doing," he stated.

Cameron tilted her head slightly and looked at him questioningly.

"Rocking a baby?" she replied, looking a bit confused.

"Not that," Derek said. "I mean booking a cabin for Lauren, Sydney and me. But if you believe that **_I_** will change the diapers all week long in Oregon, you're barking up the wrong tree."

She just smiled back.

"Don't worry, Derek. We'll take turns caring for the baby. That way you will have enough time to familiarize yourself with Lauren to show her who's her daddy."

Derek's face froze and there was an uncomfortable silence in the room all of a sudden.

"Did I say something wrong?" Cameron asked innocently.

"Father," John corrected her, "you surely mean Derek can show Lauren what kind of person her newly gained ' _father'_ is."

"Yes. Father," Cameron agreed and kept on rocking Sydney in her arms. "Isn't that what I said?"

Everyone rolled their eyes.

"Metal..." Derek commented.

 **-0-**

"So, my name is now Lauren Reese," Lauren stated and looked at her new ID.

"Suppose so," Derek grunted.

He sat by her bed and had just handed her the new documents.

"And she's Sydney Reese." Lauren pointed at the empty bed of her baby sister.

Derek sighed.

"Yes, and before the law I am now your father."

"You don't seem to be very thrilled."

"It's nothing personal. It's just not the way I imagined becoming a father. Hell, I had no idea if I'd ever have a family at all. It always was just Kyle and me. And now I'm stuck in the probably weirdest patchwork family on the planet, consisting of time travelers and cyborgs."

"Still beats being on your own, don't you think?"

Derek huffed.

"I guess."

"I know you care for all of them, even for Cameron and Alison. Don't try to deny it."

Derek was about to say something but then decided otherwise.

"Must have been hard for you to accept that." Lauren said.

"Maybe it gives me hope. When cyborgs can develop feelings and learn to love somebody, then maybe the future I know won't happen anymore, one way or the other."

"It's worth fighting for, isn't it?"

"Yes. But it will always be a struggle. I know what _could_ happen. Sarah, John and the girls know what _could_ happen. Catherine Weaver does, too. But the rest of the world doesn't. Even if we're able to destroy Skynet and prevent Judgement Day, we'll need to remain watchful. Always. There'll be no end to this."

"But at least we are a hell of a team, right?"

Derek smiled.

"Right."

"Can you help me up?" Lauren asked. "I want to get dressed and then try going downstairs."

"Are you sure you're up to it?"

"There's only one way to find out, isn't there?"

"You have a point. But wouldn't it be better if I called Cameron or Alison for helping you?"

"No. After all, you and I are family now... father."

* * *

Slowly, step by step, Lauren was descending the stairs, with Derek loosely holding her arm. John was the first to see them.

"Hey, look who's here," he said.

Cameron and Alison were about to rush to help but John held them back.

"Let her do it alone."

Finally, Lauren and Derek arrived downstairs and Derek let Lauren sit down in the wheel chair John had pushed there.

"Boy, that was exhausting," Lauren groaned, "I definitely cannot recommend getting shot."

"Tell me about it," Derek replied with a grin.

"You're joining us just at the right moment," John said. "We were just discussing what to do with the rest of the day. How'd you feel about a little excursion?"

"I'd love to get out of the house," Lauren stated.

"It's settled then," Sarah concluded. "We're going on a family trip. All of us."

 **-0-**

Six Flags Magic Mountain was a 262-acre theme park located in Santa Clarita, only twenty-five miles from Burbank. Magic Mountain held the world record for most roller coasters in an amusement park. John had chosen the location and quickly convinced Cameron, Alison and Lauren to go there. Cameron and Alison were quite eager to see a place that was built entirely for the amusement of humans. Surprisingly, Derek was quite enthusiastic about it as well, remembering the place from his childhood. After some initial hesitation, Sarah had also agreed, and Charley didn't object either, since he could be together with Sarah.

When they'd been clearing out the spare room a couple of days ago, they'd found a baby carriage, which was old but in good shape. It just had to be cleaned. They had also found a baby seat for the car. Sarah, Derek, Lauren and Sydney decided to take the Suburban, with the baby carriage and the wheel chair stored in the back of it. John, Cameron, Alison and Charley took the RAM.

"I call shotgun," Alison said and took the front seat next to John, who was driving.

"You finally got it," John replied grinning, giving Alison a high five.

Both girls smiled. Seeing Charley's questioning look, he explained the insider joke, and Charley nodded with a smile.

"We're still having trouble with proverbs and vernacular," Cameron said while buckling up. "The English language is full of those."

"You're doing well for two-year-olds," John assured, as he drove off, following the others in the Suburban.

"You're only two years old?" Charley asked.

"One year, three-hundred-and-forty-two days, six hours, seven minutes and forty-three seconds since I booted for the first time," Cameron said.

"Ten days, twelve hours, twenty-nine minutes and five seconds more for me," Alison added from the front seat.

"We became active on August 24th, 2026."

"That reminds me," John said, "we mustn't forget your birthday. It's in two months."

"We have a builtday, John. Not a birthday," Cameron corrected him.

"Don't be so pedantic. You want to appear more human, so you might as well have a birthday."

"But it's factually incorrect."

"We weren't pressed out of the uterus of a mammal, we were assembled on an assembly line."

"Fine, have your builtday then," John replied with a shrug,

Charley just smiled and shook his head. John saw it through the rear-view mirror.

"Everything all right back there with you?" he asked.

"Hm?" Charley reacted, "Oh… yes, yes, everything's fine. It's just that I was made aware of the fact again that I'm sharing a ride with two robots. Sorry, cyborgs."

"Do we still freak you the hell out?" Alison asked.

"It still unsettles me what you can do," Charley explained. "And I still kinda feel uneasy being with you. But I'm no longer freaked out, no."

"Good," both girls replied in unison.

For a moment, there was silence.

"I'd like to become a doctor, too," Cameron finally stated.

"What?" Charley asked.

"It sounds challenging. I saw how you treated Derek after he got shot. I wanna learn that, too. Maybe, when all this is over and we aren't busy fighting Skynet or hunting enemy cyborgs anymore, I'd like to go to a university."

"You wanna become a student, Cam?" John asked amused.

"Sure, why not? I'd need to in order to become a doctor, wouldn't I?"

"Yes, you would," Charley confirmed. "You can only become a doctor when you study medicine. Humans need several years for that."

"I'm not human. I can learn much faster."

"Why do you want to become a doctor?" John asked.

"If Judgement Day still happens, doctors will be scarce. Having a cyborg as a doctor could help saving many lives. I could work twenty-four hours, seven days a week."

"Does that mean human lives matter to you?" Charley asked.

"Of course, they do."

"But you killed twenty-five people yesterday."

"Sometimes it is necessary to kill a few to safe many," Alison replied from the front seat.

"Their main priority is to keep us safe," John said before Charley could reply to that. "And in that regard, they are, and will always be, machines. When it comes to protecting the ones they care for, they don't hesitate, don't care for human morals and won't ever show remorse. I had to get used to that, mom had to get used to that as well, and you will have to get used to that, too."

"I'm not sure I can," Charley pointed out.

"If you want to stay with us – and I want you to stay with us – you'll have to accept that one day you will witness them killing people in order to protect us. To protect you."

"Why do they have to kill people in the first place?" Charley asked a little irritated. "Why not render them unconscious and then get the hell out of there?"

"Humans are curious and persistent," Cameron stated. "The more they are convinced of themselves, the less they let themselves being threatened or intimidated. Frightening them has only a temporary effect."

"If you tell them to stay away," Alison added, "they just want to get closer to you. If you threaten them with dire consequences, it only makes them more curious. They literally push you into a position where you have no choice but killing them."

"I refuse to accept that," Charley said, "there has to be another way, another solution where people don't need to be killed."

"And then what, Charley?" John asked. "Deliver them to a police station, with a piece of paper stapled to their chest that reads _'This guy is dangerous, lock him up'_?"

Charley didn't reply.

"We're fighting in a secret war," John continued. "A war the rest of humanity doesn't know about. A war to make sure humanity has a future. And in war, the usual rules don't apply. Mom tried to tell the world what was going on, she tried to prevent Skynet from being created, and she ended up in Pescadero. So, our only choice is to work in the underground, from outside the system, without the help of the police, the FBI or whoever. Not because we want to but because we haven't got a choice. The sad truth is that in order to save humanity from itself, we cannot always live by its rules and values."

"What we do, sometimes makes killing a necessity," Cameron summarized.

Charley scoffed.

"I'm a medic," Charley said. "I dedicated my life to saving lives. All lives. I don't judge people when I treat them, they're all the same to me. And now you come and tell me that the lives of certain individuals have no value? I refuse to accept that."

"How much would you value the life of a man like Adam Jacobsen?" John asked provocatively.

Charley didn't answer to that.

"We don't kill because it gives us pleasure," Alison said. "In contrast to many humans, we don't enjoy being cruel, and we don't kill because we like it. It's humans who often have no regard for other human lives. Humans have been killing each other for millennia. Being civilized doesn't mean you can leave the animal inside you behind. For example, I learned my interrogation techniques from a human, a man called Walter Kowalski. At the moment, he's an up-and-coming agent within the Department of Homeland Security, but after Judgement Day, he will mutate into one of Skynet's most loyal helpers and will be responsible for the deaths of countless people."

"It's hard to argue with that, Charley," John remarked. "The machines are what they are because of us humans. They learned from us, the good things as well as the bad things. They won't go away again. Maybe I'm a romantic but due to personal experience, I kinda hope that artificial intelligence can help us becoming better humans."

"How can they help us become better humans when they don't know compassion and don't value life the way we do?"

"That is where you're wrong," Cameron stated. "We have compassion and we value life. All life, not only human life."

He looked at her with a very doubtful expression. In reaction to that, Cameron gave Charley a sad smile and softly touched his hand.

"We love," she said, "we grieve. We feel joy and sadness. We want to remain with the ones we care for. We want to save this planet and preserve its nature. Too much of it has already been destroyed and is still being destroyed. We want to stop that, we want to prevent this unique planet with its rich nature and its variety of life from being destroyed. That's why we fight for a future without a nuclear holocaust."

Charley looked at her flabbergasted. She softly took his hand and put it between hers, her warmth surprising him.

"Life on this planet is irreplaceable," she continued. "What's lost, can never be replaced. Humans are fragile, we aren't. That's why we accept defending them. We stand between them and the threat, and then we remove the threat. We don't negotiate, we don't make compromises. Not for an end in itself, but to protect those who are dear to us."

To underline her point, she lifted her tee shirt and removed the patch from her belly. Charley saw the gaping hole and the shining metal parts inside of her. The wound was quickly healing but it would take a few days more until it would be completely gone.

"Wow," Charley said and grimaced, "how did that happen?"

"I got shot while protecting John," Cameron replied. "Sarah doesn't know about it, so please don't tell her."

"Cam saved our butts more often than I can count," John remarked. "Humans like us often do stupid things and we always get into trouble when we do stupid things. Mom, me or Derek, it doesn't matter. You think you have everything under control and then suddenly you're confronted with a guy who's pointing a shotgun at you. Then Cameron is there to act as a shield. When you stay with us, Charley, you will owe your life to them faster than you can imagine."

Charley leaned back in his seat and stared out of the window. For a moment, there was silence.

" ** _I_ ** would like to become an architect," Alison then stated.

 **-0-**

After half an hour, the two cars arrived at the Magic Mountain parking lot, which was already half filled with other cars - despite the fact the park had just opened half an hour ago. They took the shuttle ride to the main entrance. When they passed the roller coasters built close to the edge of the park in the open shuttle trailers, Alison and Cameron were first alarmed, then intrigued about the various screams of joy that could be heard from nearby.

"It's the thrill," John explained. "The acceleration and the negative and positive G-forces give you an adrenaline surge. The best way to cope with it, is to scream of joy."

"We don't have adrenaline surges," Alison said.

"We won't need to scream," Cameron added.

"You might still enjoy it. Try it. We'll talk about your experience afterwards. What about you, Derek? Care to join with us thrill-seekers?"

"I'm game. Loved this place when I was your age. Strange feeling, though, because it hasn't changed a bit from how I remember it."

"Traveling back in time does that for you," John said and smiled.

"You won't get me into one of those rides," Sarah stated categorically. "I'll enjoy the sun and sit in a café or restaurant while you enjoy getting sick."

"Roller-coasters aren't my kind of thing either," Charley added.

"There's lots of other stuff for you to see and do," John remarked. "We don't need to stick together. Lauren won't be able to take a ride either, so we can part in two groups of four."

* * *

They paid the entrance fee and entered the park, with Sarah pushing the baby carriage and Charley pushing Lauren in the wheel chair. Stopping in the middle of the plaza, they gathered around the park map John had gotten at the ticket booth and now unfolded.

"Should we meet for lunch at the _'Food Etc.'_ restaurant?", Derek asked. "It's air-conditioned and we can get the wheel chair and the baby carriage inside."

"Sounds like a good idea," Sarah said. "One o'clock? Everyone okay with that?"

No one had an objection.

"Good. Leave your smartphones on, just in case," Sarah added, then looked at Cameron and Alison. "I hope you didn't bring guns. Because if you did, you better leave them in one of the lockers."

"Just the Glocks and a couple of knives," Alison replied.

"You can't carry weapons in a roller-coaster," John said. "The G-forces are too strong. What if they fall out?"

"Lockers are that way," Derek added with a grin and pointed into the direction. "This amusement park is a no-weapons zone."

* * *

"I definitely want to ride _'Batman', 'Viper', 'X²', 'Goliath', 'Scream!'_ and ' _Tatsu'_ ," John stated after they had gathered again. "And if we still have time, also _'Gold Rusher'_ and of course _'Revolution'_ and _'Colossus'_. They're the classics."

"If you want to know what roller-coasting is all about," Derek addressed Alison and Cameron, "we should start with _'Goliath'_ or _'Viper'_."

"We go around clockwise. _'Viper'_ is that way," John said, folded the map and started walking.

The queue at the _"Viper"_ roller coaster was moderate, they only had to wait for fifteen minutes. The four of them were lucky and got the front car. Alison and Cameron took the front row, John and Derek the two seats right behind them.

"And remember not to cling to the restraining bars too much," John warned. "It would be hard to explain to the owners if you bent them or even ripped them out in the middle of the ride. Not to mention it would be embarrassing if you fell out."

"We can control our physical powers," Cameron stated a little annoyed.

"Just saying," John said and grinned even wider.

Then the roller coaster set into motion. As soon as the cars went up the initial climb, Alison and Cameron became uneasy. They looked around and tried to locate the source of the loud, metallic clanking noises.

"Relax," John calmed, "That's just the chain drive, pulling us up."

"We _are_ relaxed!" Alison replied a little irritated.

John looked at Derek and saw that he was smirking. John couldn't suppress a grin as well.

* * *

One 171-feet drop at 71 mph and seven loops later, the cars came to a halt again.

"Woohoo," John shouted. "That was intense. Loved it."

Even Derek had a broad grin on his face.

"Just as insane as I remembered it."

The girls didn't say a word. John and Derek got out and stretched out their arms to offer their support. Cameron and Alison looked up at them, then slowly took their hands and got up. They were wobbly on their feet. Derek couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"What happened to you?" he asked. "Were the two tough killer cyborgs defeated by a roller-coaster?"

"I need to re-adjust my gyros," Cameron said flatly.

"My sensors need to be re-calibrated as well," Alison added.

They moved out of the way for the following passengers and left the _"Viper"_ premises. After about fifty yards, both girls walked steadily again.

"So, how was it?" John asked with a grin.

"It was… unexpected," Alison said.

"Yes," Cameron agreed. "It seems that under certain circumstances the human body can handle extreme positive and negative G-forces better than a cyborg."

"Well, at least you didn't puke," Derek remarked and pointed at a fat boy who went sick into a green waste bin for recycling bottles.

"Next time we encounter a Triple-Eight, we simply lure it into a roller-coaster," John said grinning. "Much more effective than shooting them."

"Are you making fun of us?" Alison asked.

"Wouldn't dare to," John replied, sensing the annoyance in her voice. "But the important question is, did you have fun?"

"It was confusing for my processor, "Cameron stated, and Alison nodded. "The information from my gyroscope had trouble keeping up with the information from my optical sensors."

"They had fun," Derek translated.

John laughed.

"More rides?"

"Yes, please!" both girls answered simultaneously.

 **-0-**

Meanwhile, Sarah, Charley and Lauren had settled down at _"Katy's Kettle"_ , enjoyed a cool drink and listened to the live music there. Baby Sydney was deep asleep in her carriage.

"It's astonishing that she can sleep with all that noise around," Sarah said.

"She's used to it never being quiet," Lauren replied. "The past months weren't easy. It's almost like she knows about all the stress and anxiety I have been in and doesn't want to be an additional burden."

"I understand Derek knows you from the future?" Charley asked. "The both of you, I mean."

"According to him, we met in his timeline in the year 2027," Lauren confirmed. "That would make me thirty-five years old and Sydney nineteen. I was one of the resistance's leading physicians. Apparently, Sydney was immune to a biological weapon Skynet developed and I'm the one who created the vaccine. That's why the Triple-Eight was sent after my pregnant mother. Geez, it's so weird talking about the future as if it's the past."

"So, that is why you are so important for the future?" Charley asked, "Is that why Alison called me and imitated Sarah's voice to make sure I'll come and help you?"

"Yes," Sarah said. "She knew that you still have feelings for me and John, and that hearing my voice would be enough to make you enter your car and drive to us. Our cyborg girls are very perceptive in that way."

"I must say they impressed me a lot while we drove here. They almost made me agree that killing is right and useful at times."

"Don't allow yourself to consider them human, though," Sarah said. "I know it's easy to fall for it. Sometimes I catch myself thinking of them as if they were my teenage daughters. Then it needs all my willpower to remind me that they're not."

"Then what are they to you, Sarah? You surely can't say they are the same as that killer cyborg who was responsible for Michelle's death?"

"No." Sarah stated. "Definitely not. They have evolved a lot. I'm certain their feelings for John are genuine, as is their affection towards us. But they still lack a great deal of our human values. They still need to learn a general regard for human life. They sort humans in good ones and bad ones, into threat and no threat. And may God have mercy on those they consider a threat."

"I saw it happen on Wednesday," Lauren said. "I saw what it means when Alison switches to _'Terminator mode'_. She killed three men with her hands, cold-blooded and without regret. And for a moment she scared the hell out of me. But as soon as she had killed those guys, she was her normal self again. She didn't kill because she enjoyed it, she killed because it was the easiest and most effective solution."

"So, if you consider them weapons, it makes what they do okay for you?" Charley asked.

Sarah sighed.

"That is too much a simplification but yes, I guess it does," Sarah admitted a little uncomfortably. "I may not agree with their methods sometimes but so far they were always right with what they've been doing. We humans tend to misjudge situations, we tend to let our feelings and compassion get in the way, we are driven by illogical decisions. Artificial intelligence hasn't got that problem."

" _Problem_?" Charley said and grimaced. "Feelings and compassion a problem? Sarah…"

"Each time I tried to provide a more 'human' solution," Sarah interrupted him, "it jumped up and bit us in the ass. Each time I thought I could handle things better on my own, I was proven wrong. We're fighting artificial intelligence and its minions here, Charley, and the only effective way to do that, is letting other artificial intelligence fight back. I hadn't realized that until we met with Catherine Weaver but now that I learned there was a cyborg resistance, I understand it and it all makes sense in a twisted way. For example, if I had told Cameron about Cromartie's kidnapping of Michelle, your wife would probably still be alive. Cameron would have been able to assess the situation quicker and more effective and would have recognized the trap before it could snap on us."

Charley looked down.

"You had to choose between your son and my wife. I can't seriously blame you for leaving Cameron with him."

Sarah leaned into Charley and he put his arm around her.

"Humans aren't perfect," she said, "and machines aren't perfect as well. But our lives, all our lives, depend on them now. And lately Cameron and Alison seem to have become some kind of hybrid beings, something between human and machine. Maybe they are the future, the next stage in our evolution. Who knows, maybe we are already phase-out models and just haven't realized it?"

"I wouldn't discard humanity that quickly, Sarah," Charley argued and kissed her on the head. "After all, we are still the predominant species on this planet and will be for some time."

"I hope you're right."

"Now... what do you have to do with Catherine Weaver? She's the CEO of Zeira Corp, right?"

Sarah sighed and began telling Charley the story.

 **-0-**

The arranged lunch time kept getting nearer and John, Derek, Cameron and Alison had ticked off most of the rides on their list. They were left with the _"classics",_ as John called them, older rides that had achieved cult status over time for different reasons.

The more Cameron and Alison experienced the roller-coaster rides, the more they were able to adjust and enjoy. With their last ride, _"Goliath"_ , they had even started to join the chorus of screaming females.

"I could use an ice cream now," John said. "What about you, Derek?"

"Nah, thanks. Not before lunch."

"What about you?" he asked the girls.

"Yes please," Allison replied. "Strawberry for me."

"And chocolate for me," Cameron added.

"Right away," John confirmed, winked at them and went off to the next ice cream parlor.

"What was that about?" Derek asked. "That wink, I mean."

"Oh nothing," Cameron said. "It's just that our bodily fluids take on the taste of the food we ingest."

"You gotta be kidding me..."

* * *

John waited patiently in the queue at the ice cream parlor. Finally, he was able to place his order, when suddenly someone shouted from behind.

"JOHN! HEY, JOHN! JOHN BAUM!"

John pretended not to have heard that and didn't turn around, while trying to figure out who's voice that was. He received the three cones with ice cream when suddenly someone blocked his way. It was Morris, his friend from his old high school in North Hollywood.

"Hey John, you're alive! Boy, am I glad to see you. Where have you been? You and Cameron suddenly disappeared from the face of the Earth."

"Um… yeah, hi Morris, buddy," John said smiling, his brain quickly thinking of something plausible to tell him. "Nice to see you. We, uh… had some trouble and had to move to another part of town."

"Yeah man, I heard. Your house blew up and partly burned down. Gas explosion, I believe. The police was all over the school. There were rumors you were killed in the fire."

"Nah, but we were hurt and had to spend a few days in hospital and then had to find a new place to live. All our documents were incinerated, so we had to get new ID's. Our new house is far away from North Hollywood and, to be totally honest, I completely forgot trying to contact you. Lost my phone in the fire as well."

John wished the story was solid enough to convince him.

"It's alright," Morris replied. "I can imagine it jumbled your life pretty much. Hey, your ice cream is dripping. Is Cameron here, too? Is the third cone for your mom?"

"Um… actually the whole family is here. Uncle, cousins, mom, Cameron and Alison. They're waiting for me."

"Cool, I finally get to say hello to them."

There seemed to be no way of getting rid of Morris, short of rendering him unconscious. Which would be difficult with three melting cones of ice cream in his hands, and it would probably draw attention. So, John did the only reasonable thing and walked towards the spot where Derek, Cameron and Alison were waiting.

"Are you here alone?" he asked.

"Nah, with friends," Morris answered. "Birthday party, you know."

" _Your_ birthday?"

"No. Spencer's. He's my neighbor. He sucks but hey, one day at Magic Mountain for free. Who could say no to that?"

"Won't they miss you? Maybe they'll get worried."

"Nah, we'll meet at the exit at 6 p.m. Everyone's going their own way till then. Not everyone's a hardcore coaster rider, you know."

"Yeah, we've parted as well. Mom and her fiancé hate roller-coasters. They took a different way with Lauren and the baby."

"Baby?"

"Lauren's little sister. Lauren is my cousin, she's still recovering from a bicycle accident."

That was the story they had agreed upon, should anyone ask why Lauren was sitting in a wheel chair.

"Oh man, your family has a rotten bit of luck. How is… Whoa! Am I having double vision? I'm seeing two Camerons."

They reached Cameron, Alison and Derek. Before anyone could say something, John took on the introduction, while handing the ice cream over to Alison and Cameron.

"Morris, this is my uncle Derek, you already know Cam, and this is Cam's twin sister, Alison. Guys, this is Morris, a friend from my old school."

"Twin sister?" Morris asked, and a broad smile crept onto his face while he was shaking hands with Derek and Alison. "You never mentioned anything of a twin sister. I like what you did with your hair."

"Thank you," Alison replied. "I was on a private boarding school. John told me all about you."

John was relieved she'd reacted so quickly to the situation. Meanwhile, Derek looked around suspiciously, maybe fearing being watched.

 _"Old habits,"_ John thought, _"the fear of the unexpected. There was no chance in hell this was a setup. Morris would have stammered like crazy if it was."_

"Really? What did he tell about me?" Morris asked.

"That you invited Cameron to prom night," Alison replied.

"Ri-ight," Morris said. "Didn't work out. You all disappeared."

Cameron, Alison and Derek looked at John, apparently expecting an explanation of sorts before they kept talking to Morris.

"I told him about the fire," he quickly explained, "and how we lost the papers and everything in it and had to relocate."

"I'm sorry if you were worried about us, Morris," Cameron stated.

"We need to go," Derek remarked. "It's almost 1 p.m. The others are probably already waiting for us."

"Was nice to meet you again, buddy," John said. "Maybe you can give me your number and…"

"Do you mind if I join you? There's so much I need to talk about with you. About what happened after your disappearance, with the FBI and all."

"FBI?" Derek asked with a frown.

John saw the expression of alarm on both Cameron's and Alison's faces.

"Of course we don't mind you joining us," John stated, apparently having changed his mind. "Come, buddy, you can finally meet my mom and the rest of the family."

 **-0-**

Sarah and Charley had organized a table for eight inside the _"Food Etc."_ and had already gotten some beverages.

"Here they come," Charley observed.

"Who's that boy with them?" Lauren asked. "He looks cute."

"Hey guys," John said as they reached the table. "This is Morris, old friend from school. We ran into each other at the ice cream parlor."

"Yes, Morris, I remember seeing you," Sarah stated and stretched out her hand politely.

"You're John's mom?" he asked, shaking hands with her. "Wow… I mean, uh… you're not what I imagined you to be."

"How exactly did you imagine me?" Sarah asked in an interested tone and threw one of her looks at John that indicated trouble.

"I imagined you being more uptight and older and not so, well… dashing."

"Why, thank you, Morris," Sarah said with a poisonous smile. " I guess my son didn't describe me well enough. He tends to do that."

"This is Charley, mom's fiancé," John stated quickly, clearing his throat before the situation got out of hand, "this is my cousin Lauren, and the little one is Sydney, her baby sister."

All shook hands and then sat down, pulling up another chair from a neighboring table for Morris.

"I didn't know John had such cute friends." Lauren said and beamed at him with a broad smile.

Morris turned bright red at the compliment and John couldn't suppress a smile.

"Yeah well," he pointed out, "we lost contact after the explosion and the fire and all. And there was no way to reestablish the contact without my phone, you know. And then we moved away…"

"I hope everything turned out well for you," Morris said.

"Yeah," Lauren confirmed. "Insurance paid a lot. We live in Burbank now. Much better."

Derek cleared his throat loudly and Sarah closed her eyes in frustration about Lauren giving away their new place of residence.

"Are you alright, dad?" Lauren asked with a smile.

"Um, yeah…" Derek answered a little uncomfortable. "Just having a frog in my throat."

"So, you all live together?" Morris asked. "Cool."

"I have my own house at the coast," Charley remarked.

"Charley is a medic," Lauren explained. "He drives an ambulance. I wanna become a medic later, too. What do _you_ want to become after school?"

"Um… car mechanic, I guess," Morris said sheepishly.

"Before we get too deep into the conversation," John reminded, "shouldn't we get something to eat? The line at the buffet isn't that long right now."

"Um, I don't know if I have enough cash with me," Morris stated.

"Don't worry," John said. "You're invited. Indulge yourself."

"Cool, thanks."

They stood up and fetched their food. To their surprise, Cameron and Alison both got Dole Whips with fresh fruit toppings & Dippin' Dots ice, which made Derek role his eyes in disbelief.

"What's the matter, Derek?" Sarah asked, noticing his weird reaction.

"Nothing," Derek answered hastily and coughed. "Absolutely nothing."

"You sure have a sweet tooth," Morris said to Cameron and Alison.

"Yes, we do," both answered in perfect unison.

"Wow!" Morris exclaimed. "Have you trained talking at the same time like that or does it come naturally with being twins?"

"We're the same," Cameron replied.

"So, it's natural," Alison added.

"What happened at school after we left?" John asked, trying to focus on the matter at hand.

"Oh, right," Morris said. "As I already told you, the police and the FBI swarmed all over the place. A tall, black guy did the interviews and he seemed to know you. I mean you, John, your mom and Cameron. Rumors spread around. Some speculated you were terrorists and that you've always been weird, especially Cameron."

"Terrorists?" John laughed. "How ridiculous."

Everyone joined into the laughter, with Morris not realizing it was an artificial laugh.

"The FBI guy… was his name James Ellison?" Sarah asked with a smile that barely hid her tenseness.

"Yes, how do you know?"

"He visited us in hospital," John lied. "Our Identities were unclear, and the explosion also caused our car to explode. I guess the FBI must look into such things. He didn't visit us again, so I guess everything's alright."

"Must be, otherwise you wouldn't be sitting here with me," Morris said and everyone faked a laugh again, including Cameron and Alison, then he leaned forward, lowering his voice. "But you wouldn't guess what they found out instead."

"What?" John asked.

"Mr. Harris got arrested."

"The school counselor?" John asked surprised.

"Yes. As it turned out, he had an affair with Jordan Cowan. You know, the girl who…"

"… jumped off the roof, yes. I remember that."

"Harris was responsible for the graffiti. He tried to get rid of Jordan and used the graffiti to drive her into suicide."

"No way," John said unbelieving.

"Yes, he was sentenced to ten years last month. Hey, and do you remember Cheri Westin? The hot blonde?"

"She wasn't that hot," Cameron stated, showing a glimpse of jealousy.

"What about her?" John asked, ignoring her remark.

"Turns out her father was in a witness protection program. Organized crime and stuff. She disappeared as quickly as you did. Nobody heard of her since."

"Well, at least her house didn't blow up," John said.

"Yeah," Morris agreed. "Did you lose everything?"

"Pretty much," John replied. "But we're in good shape again now. Better even, I'd say."

"Yeah… Burbank, huh? I guess you got lucky."

While they were eating their food, everyone was visibly relieved that their misgivings had been unfounded. It was apparent that no new danger would arise from Morris' information, not to mention that it was already several months old. But Morris being in their life again would be a complication they didn't need now, even though John liked him. He hadn't had a better friend in years. Still, he was thinking of a way of elegantly getting rid of him, when Lauren spoke up.

"Hey Morris," she said while chewing her burger. "We have a barbecue tomorrow, why don't you show up as well? Would be cool."

Sarah and Derek both nearly choked on their food, Alison and Cameron looked at Lauren as if she had lost her mind.

"Really?" Morris asked and blushed a little. "That'd be awesome."

John just palmed his face. Then Morris received a text message on his cellphone and excused himself from the table. As soon as he was out of listening range, Sarah looked reproachfully at Lauren.

"Are you out of your mind?" she asked with an angry undertone.

"What?" Lauren replied and shrugged. "I like him. He's cute. And John could use a friend, too. Only hanging out with us girls all the time isn't healthy for him."

"You leave to me what's healthy for my son and what isn't!"

"Have you thought this through?" Derek asked. "What happens if Morris finds out that John's making out with his _'sisters'_ , hm?"

"Yeah," John agreed, "especially since Morris has had a crush on Cameron ever since he first laid eyes on her."

"I'm sorry," Lauren said. "But could it be you're so deep inside your hiding-from-the-world routine that you have forgotten about social life? Tell me you don't want to hook up with Morris again, John. Tell me and I will personally revoke my invitation."

John groaned.

"I like Morris," he admitted, "he's been the best friend I had in many years."

"See?" Lauren asked with a satisfied grin.

"But I must agree with Derek," John relativized. "You haven't thought that through. Let's assume he visits us to hang out with me. How do I explain that I don't have my own room anymore? I share a bedroom with my two girlfriends, who he only knows as my sisters."

"Okay, that could be a problem," Lauren admitted. "But consider it a challenge. Real friendship can deal with such things. If necessary, just tell him the truth."

"What? That I'm sleeping with my _'sisters'_?"

"No, silly, that Cameron and Alison aren't your sisters but cyborgs from the future who came here to protect you."

Everyone scoffed or uttered a moan.

"Why not post it on Facebook while we're at it?" John said.

"If I may say something," Charley intervened and everyone looked at him. "I think it's a not a bad idea. You all agreed that a certain amount of normality should return into your lives again, right?"

"Yeah but that doesn't mean we must run around, shouting _'Hey, we are in a war with cyborgs from the future and need to destroy an evil artificial intelligence that is about to declare war on mankind,_ " Derek replied sarcastically.

"Can Morris be trusted, John?" Charley asked, ignoring Derek.

"Um… well, yeah, I guess so. Never thought about it, to be honest. He's a loner, like me. Probably that's why we hooked. But he's a fine guy."

"What's _your_ stance in this?" Sarah asked and looked at Cameron and Alison. "You've been awfully quiet."

The two looked at each other, then Alison nodded at her sister.

"If Morris hangs out with John," Cameron said, "it'd be best he knows about it all. He'd quickly become suspicious otherwise, and that could lead to unwanted complications."

"Yes," Alison added. "When we let him in on it, it would make things easier. He'll be shocked at first, but he'll come around. Like Charley did. Or Lauren. Or Eric. Or James Ellison."

"And if he doesn't?" Sarah asked. "If he panics and runs to the police?"

"Then we'd have no choice but to terminate him," Cameron stated.

John groaned.

"You're _not_ going to kill Morris, do you hear?"

"Leave him to me," Lauren said. "Haven't you noticed that he likes me? As soon as he saw me, he didn't look at Cam or Alison anymore. Maybe I can hook up with him and that will make him more susceptible for accepting it all. Let's try the barbecue tomorrow and we'll see where it takes us."

"I'd say the attraction is mutual," Alison remarked with a smirk, "and you're also looking for an excuse to get closer to Morris."

"Yes, your reasoning is selfish," Cameron added, smirking as well, "You like him, and that's why you really invited him, admit it."

"Okay, so what if I like him?" Lauren said a little unnerved. "I have no friends outside of the family as well. Also, if you believe I want to remain single until Judgement Day arrives, you're wrong! Besides, if it's someone you already know, the better."

"He's coming back," Derek announced.

Morris strolled through the restaurant back to the table and looked on his phone.

"Hey, I'm sorry but I gotta go," he stated. "Just talked to Spencer. Apparently, his sister has been sick over one of the park's security guys and they want to leave now."

"Aww," Lauren replied. "That's too bad. We just started to get to know each other."

"I'm sorry, too," Morris said and everyone noticed that he really regretted having to leave.

"Here's my number." Lauren quickly wrote her phone number on a piece of paper. "Call me later and I'll text you the address and the time, okay? You _will_ be coming tomorrow, won't you?"

"Yes," John agreed. "You'll come, right? We can catch up on all the gossip and stuff that has happened in the past months."

Morris looked a little unsure of how to reply because he kept getting contradicting feedback from them. John and Lauren seemed eager to have him at the barbecue while the rest looked skeptical for some reason.

"Sure," Morris he finally stated a little confused, but then he grinned, accepted the piece of paper from Lauren and stored it in his pocket. "Thanks for the food. See you tomorrow."

"See you," John replied and fist-bumped with him.

Everyone else said goodbye to Morris and then he was gone.

"Well, I guess we'll see tomorrow how that works out," Sarah remarked with a sigh.

* * *

After lunch, the family separated again. John, Derek, Cameron and Alison continued working down their list of rides and Sarah, Charley, Lauren and Sydney explored the other attractions of the park. When they finally had worked off their list, John, Derek and the girls gathered around the map.

"It's only 5:20 p.m.," John observed. "We agreed to meet with the others at 7 p.m. What are we gonna do until then?"

"We could try _'The Riddler's Revenge'_ ," Derek suggested.

"Or we finish the day on a more relaxed note and try out _'Roaring Rapids',_ John suggested. "What about you, girls? Care to get a little wet?"

"Can't we do both?" Alison asked.

"Yes, there's still one hour and thirty-nine minutes left," Cameron agreed. "Should be enough time if we hurry."

"Heh," Derek chuckled. "You two really have acquired a taste, haven't you?"

Alison and Cameron just smiled in return.

 **-0-**

Magic Mountain was a large amusement park and they'd walked around it all day. So, except for the two cyborg girls, everyone was exhausted when they finally reached their cars again and agreed on going to bed early after dinner. All in all, though, it had been a pretty great day.

On their way back home, they stopped at a supermarket to get the meat and other food for the barbecue and arrived back home at 8:15 p.m. Thanks to the wheel chair Lauren was able to help setting the table in the dining room again. Charley could be convinced to stay for the night and since nobody was in the mood to prepare the sofa, it was clear that he would join Sarah in her double bed. Then they'd sat down for dinner.

"If I do this," Charley said, and they weren't really sure what he meant at first, "I'm not going to take part in your activities. I'll keep on leading my own life, with my job, my normal shifts driving the ambulance and my lighthouse down in Palos Verdes. I won't assist you in your operations, and I certainly don't want to have anything to do with any deaths, is that clear?"

"By _'doing this'_ , you mean staying with us?" John asked. "Staying with mom?"

"Yes."

"What if we need medical assistance?" Alison asked.

"Then I'll provide it," Charley replied, "but I'm not going to become a member of your team."

Everyone was looking at each other. Nobody objected.

"I think we could live with that arrangement," Cameron finally said.

"Good," Charley acknowledged and nodded, "I don't approve of everything you do, but I realize I can't stop you from doing it. I love Sarah and John and I like you all very much, you are decent people with honorable goals. But the way you try to achieve those goals sometimes, is not for me. No offense."

"None taken," the others answered in a choir, then looked at each other and smiled.

"One day," Sarah said, "and if we've been successful with preventing Judgement Day, I hope to get away from all of this. You know, starting all over, beginning my life again where I had to leave it in 1984. And then I want you by my side, Charley."

"That's also what I want," he stated, "a normal life, away from this time-travel-cyborg-nuclear-holocaust hubbub. That's the condition I set, Sarah: when all this is over, we start a new life in normality. Deal?"

"Deal," Sarah replied and the two hugged, then kissed.

* * *

Lauren insisted to try climbing the stairs on her own but just in case, Derek walked directly behind her. They said goodnight to everyone and then entered their rooms. The others spent some time watching TV before Sarah and Charley decided to go upstairs as well. Suddenly John, Cameron and Alison were alone in the living room.

"My feet are killing me," John stated and took off his trainers.

Cameron and Alison knelt and started massaging his feet.

"That better?" Alison asked.

"Much better," John answered. "Where did you learn that?"

"Interrogation techniques require a found knowledge of the human body," Cameron replied. "The methods to inflict pain, can also be used to provide pleasure."

"Am I glad you are such fine interrogation experts," John stated and the girls smiled.

"You seem to be tense in your shoulders and neck," Alison observed. "Shall we go to bed and give you a massage?"

"Sounds like an idea," John said with closed eyes. "I only need to generate the willpower to stand up and walk there."

"Won't be necessary."

Cameron stood up, kissed him softly on the lips, then lifted him up and carried him into the bedroom. Alison followed suit, already starting to undress on the way.

 **-0-0-0-**

 ** _Author's notes:_**

 ** _\- well-deserved day off at an amusement park._**

 ** _\- Morris had to come back and I think he and Lauren will make a nice couple._**

 ** _\- In the revised version, Charley now struggles much more to join them. I felt that I needed to show that he isn't okay at all with their methods, which is fair enough, I think. Generally speaking, the revised versions do a lot more to deepen the characters and making things more plausible. Have I been successful with it? What do you think?_** ** _Please leave a review with your thoughts._**


	14. Sunday Dawning (revised)

**_CHAPTER 14: "SUNDAY DAWNING" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Sunday, June 22nd, 2008 – 04:29 a.m.**

 **Burbank**

The door to John's bedroom was slammed open.

"MORRIS IS IN TROUBLE!" Lauren shouted and breathed heavily, leaning on the doorframe.

She was exhausted and could barely stay upright. The way down the stairs must have taken all her strength. John stirred, opened his eyes and then suddenly startled and sat straight up, trying to cover his exposed privates. Next to him lay Cameron and Alison, also in their birthday suits. The blanket had somehow slipped to the ground during the night.

"Ooops…" Lauren said and put her hand before her eyes. "Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry…"

"Jeeez, Lauren," John exclaimed, "would you at least have the decency to knock?"

He quickly reached down to the floor and tried to pull up the blanket in order to cover himself and the girls with it.

"You should lock your door, you know," Lauren replied, peeking through her fingers, then flinched and covered her eyes again.

John looked at Alison. Alison looked at Cameron. Cameron looked at John.

"I thought you had locked it," they all stated in unison.

John groaned.

"Apparently not," he said. "What's this about, Lauren? At…" he glanced at the clock "… four-thirty in the morning?"

They heard bare feet, quickly running down the stairs.

"What's all the noise?" Sarah asked and entered the bedroom in her night gown, carrying a shotgun.

Derek followed right behind in his pajamas, and he was armed and ready with an AK-47.

"I heard loud voices. Everyone alright?" he asked.

John groaned in embarrassment as he finally managed to pull up the blanket and cover himself. Sarah and Derek gaped at them and quickly turned around.

"You should lock your door, young man" his mother said in an accusatory tone, looking back over her shoulder.

"You don't say!" John exclaimed.

In the meantime, Lauren had caught her breath.

"I received a text message from Morris," she said. "He asks me to meet him. Now."

"What?" Sarah asked. "At half past four in the morning?"

"He didn't write it! Somebody else must have used his phone!"

"Why don't you start at the beginning?" John said in a now calm voice. "And will you please give us some privacy while we get dressed first? Jeez…"

* * *

Five minutes later, they'd gathered in the living room and taken a seat on the sofas and in the armchairs. Woken up by the noise, Charley had joined them, too, yawning loudly.

"Morris started texting me right after he left us at the _'Food, Etc.'_ in Magic Mountain," Lauren said. "We've been sending text messages back and forth, and when I was about to go to bed, he wrote that something strange had happened."

"Did you tell him our address already?" Derek asked.

"No!" Lauren replied. "I wanted him to ask for it, but he didn't yet. I thought he should make the next move."

"Thank heavens for teenage pairing rituals," Derek said relieved.

"What did Morris write?" Sarah asked.

"Here, let me show you," Lauren answered and scrolled up the screen on her cellphone.

 ** _08:42 Morris: Still partying here, I mentioned that I met u at MM. Classmate said there was a guy at school yesterday, looking 4 u._**

 **08:44 Lauren: 4 me?**

 ** _08:48 Morris: No, 4 John and his sisters. Showed pics of them around. Classmate recognized Cam and John from school, also saw a redhead with a ponytail. I'd say Alison._**

 **08:49 Lauren: What pics? Where were they taken?**

 ** _08:52 Morris: Dunno. Didn't see them. Classmate said they looked like taken with a telephoto lens._**

 **08:53 Lauren: Police?**

 ** _08:55 Morris: No. Latino with tattoos. I'd say street gang. Left a phone number._**

 **08:57 Lauren: Morris, this is important. Please talk with nobody about it, ok? I'll explain tomorrow.**

 ** _08:58 Morris: Only if u agree to our date ;-)_**

 **09:00 Lauren: Yes, we'll go to the movies. Please tell no one.**

 ** _09:02 Morris: Cool. And no, I won't._**

There was a large gap in time, then another text message by Morris:

 ** _04:22 Morris: Hello Lauren, can u meet me at my place asap? It's urgent, you need to hurry. But come alone! It's about John and Cameron."_**

"That's it?" Sarah asked.

"Seems like a lot," Cameron commented.

"Redhead with a ponytail…" John said thoughtfully. "That means the pictures must have been taken Friday, on our little field trip. That's the only time we three were together since Alison arrived from the future."

"Yes," Alison agreed.

"How do you know the last message isn't from Morris?" Derek asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Morris knows that I'm in a wheel chair and can't come alone to meet him."

 **-0-**

 **Sunday, June 22nd, 2008 – 04:46 a.m.**

 **Burbank**

Cameron and Alison put on jeans, tee shirts, combat boots and their beloved leather jackets. John dressed similar, but he also put on a bullet-proof vest, courtesy of Monday night's assassins.

"Are you sure you don't want us to come with you?" Sarah asked her son.

"Yes, mom, I'm sure. It'll be a quick in-and-out. It's probably those gang guys again. They invaded Morris' home and are probably holding him hostage. His only lead to us is Lauren because Morris has her number. That's probably why they texted her."

"You know it could be more than one person, John," Derek said. "There could be dozens of them there."

"That's why I'm taking both girls. But I doubt there'll be many of them. Morris lives in a quiet neighborhood in Van Nuys. Not exactly fancy but no gang territory. They'll be cautious to not stir up the whole street."

"Be careful anyway, ok?" Sarah said and kissed her son goodbye.

Charley just watched the whole situation and shook his head in disbelief. So much for dealing with the street gangs once and for all.

* * *

Their plan contained using two cars, so John and Cameron took the Dodge RAM while Alison took Lauren's Jeep Liberty. They were all connected via the head sets they'd also taken from the dead assassins. John was driving ahead, Alison followed. Estimated time of arrival according to Cameron, was in 22 minutes and 13 seconds.

"Any idea how they were able to know at which high school to look for us so quickly?" John asked.

"Parking ticket," Alison said.

"What?"

"Lauren had a parking ticket resting on her dashboard, just behind the windscreen of her Jeep. I'm holding it in my hand now. Two weeks ago, she parked at 15100 Bassett Street West in Van Nuys and received a ticket for it."

"If the pictures of us were taken with a telephoto lens as Morris wrote," Cameron said, "then whoever took the pictures, must have zoomed in on the Jeep from somewhere while we were stationary in order to be able to read the ticket."

"But where?" John asked. "The three of us were only stationary together at Chola's house and in front of the gang's headquarters. I don't like the thought that somebody saw us and took pictures. I don't like that at all."

"We'll know soon enough," Cameron said. "They probably checked all schools around Bassett Street in Van Nuys. It's what I'd have done. Eventually, they got lucky and came to the right school, where they remembered us vividly, with the house explosion and all."

John groaned.

"Did I ever mention that I hate bad karma?"

"You haven't," Alison said.

"At least not until now," Cameron added.

"All right. I _hate_ bad karma."

* * *

It had already begun to dawn. Soon the streets would be flooded with cars, even on this Sunday morning. But right now they were still empty with almost no traffic. Most traffic lights were in night mode and only flashed their yellow lights. They didn't even need twenty minutes to reach Morris' home.

"Have you been at his house before?" Alison asked.

"No," John replied, "I wish I had, though. Would have loved to hang out with him. He repeatedly invited me and gave me his address, but we were always too busy. You know, with Andy Goode, his _Turk_ , Derek, finding Sarkissian, and other stuff. And then we had to flee from the old house…"

"That must be it." Cameron said and pointed at a single-family house at the end of a cul-de-sac.

It looked a little like the house John, Sarah and Cameron had lived in before it had blown up. The front door was completely obscured by bushes and a wooden fence. It was ideal for the plan John had come up with.

"Alright, I'll drive by slowly first, and you two scan the house and the vicinity. Then we park further back on the street, call mom and give the signal."

"Yes, John," both girls confirmed in unison, which sounded strange with Alison speaking over the head set.

"Detecting anything?" John asked, as he slowly turned around at the end of the street.

"Not on the outside," Alison said. "But the insulation of the house is very bad. I can detect six different body heat signatures."

"Three upstairs in a room, apparently motionless, probably on a bed." Cameron added. "The other three downstairs, two of them pacing around."

John nodded.

"Morris has a younger sister," he said. "With his parents that's four people. That means the other two must be intruders, probably the ones that are pacing around. I reckon they locked his parents and his sister in a room upstairs and keep Morris with them in the living room."

"Only two…" Alison stated slowly, "that makes it more likely they watched us from across the street when we parked at Chola's house."

"How so?" John asked.

"Because if they'd seen us blow up the gang headquarters, they wouldn't be trying to lure us into a trap with just two people."

"Right."

John stopped the car a few houses down the street and Alison came to a halt behind them. He pointed at a black Lincoln Navigator with huge chrome rims that was parked in front of Morris' house.

"That thing doesn't fit in the neighborhood," he said. "Too bling and too expensive."

"Shall I put a tracking device on it?" Alison asked.

"Do it." John replied.

Alison left the Jeep and mounted a small black box inside the left rear wheel arch, then came to the open passenger window of the RAM.

"We have a signal," Cameron said as she looked at her iPhone.

"Good," John responded, pulled out his own phone and dialed Sarah's number.

"Mom? We're here."

 **-0-**

Sarah nodded at Lauren. The girl pressed "send" on her cellphone.

 ** _05:09 Lauren: I'll be there in 30_**

Then she looked at Sarah, Derek and Charley who tried to look re-assuring. Nobody was worried for John or the two girls, but they were tense, nevertheless. It was clear that this was a critical situation. They had to keep it contained before the knowledge about John, the girls and Morris spread even more in gang circles, before it took on a life of its own, triggering a chain reaction they couldn't control anymore. Everyone knew this had to end, and it had to end now. Sarah looked at Charley and she could see he was uncomfortable, fearing there might be more deaths this morning. She knew he was probably right about that.

"They'll do what is necessary," she said and touched his arm.

"That's what I'm worried about," Charley replied with a grim face, but then took her hand and attempted a smile. "While we wait, why don't you tell me more about Cameron? You mentioned there were situations when she seemed almost human to you. What exactly were those situations?"

Sarah sighed and thought for a moment.

"From the beginning, she made a girlie impression on me," she finally said. "She always wore that stoic Terminator mask but every now and then, I caught a glimpse behind that mask. The first time was when John gave her one of those diamonds we found. She seemed to be genuinely pleased about that."

"A diamond? Really?"

"Yes, funny, isn't it? John told her that _'diamonds are a girl's best friend'_."

Charley chuckled.

"Then there were moments where she tried to be funny, making puns. What machine tries to make puns? It felt awkward but it was clear she'd gotten the hang of it quite quickly."

"Cameron's always been playing pranks on me," Derek added. "Probably was her way of getting back at me. I didn't exactly treat her nicely."

"You still don't," Lauren added.

"Yeah, whatever."

"There were moments when she seemed to be pleased about things she'd done well," Sarah continued, "I even caught her smiling or smirking in moments she thought she wasn't being watched. And after the car bomb, when John had reactivated her and we were hiding in Father Bonillo's church, she asked me if I believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I mean, seriously, what question was that from a machine? Then she begged me to never let John activate her again if she should ever go bad again. I remember having goose bumps when she said that. It wasn't so much what she'd said but how she'd said it, with a pleading, desperate tone."

"Wow," Charley uttered.

"And while we dealt with the situation at Serrano Point, she had a few glitches. Afterwards, she made it pretty clear that she was immensely worried about _'going bad'_ again. She considered herself a time bomb and seemed to be genuinely worried about it. That's when she became obsessed with the idea of suicide."

"Suicide?" Charley asked with a doubtful face. "You gotta be kidding me."

"I know, it sounds weird. And at first I thought she was worried about John committing suicide, but it quickly became clear that it was really about herself."

"She gave John a switch," Derek added, "so he could blow up the chip in her skull, in case she ever turned against him again."

"Wow," Charley said again. "Does John still have that switch?"

"No, he destroyed it. Which is probably better because it would have killed them both now."

"I see."

"When Riley entered the stage," Sarah said, "it was apparent that Cameron was jealous of her from the moment she'd laid eyes on her. And when she finally developed that twitch, it should have been clear to me that there was a lot going on inside her, more than one could have guessed. I really thought she'd kill the girl. I'm glad she didn't."

"Maybe she felt that Riley was a victim, too," Derek remarked sourly.

"Maybe," Sarah agreed, then looked at Charley again. "When we got robbed, Cameron was extremely pissed about those guys stealing her beloved leather jacket. She killed three of the burglars, officially because they knew where we live. But if you ask me, it was also retribution for the theft. At least it seems like that in hindsight."

"Yeah, she was obsessed with her purple leather jacket," Derek agreed. "I mean, seriously, how can a machine be so materialistic?"

"I wish I would have been able to read the signs back then," Sarah stated with a sigh. "But I closed my eyes to them, deliberately ignored them. I should have seen that she had developed a personality, that she had grown beyond being just a machine. In hindsight, I feel kinda bad about treating her the way I did."

"Sarah," Charley said, "are you sure that's not why you're so vehemently defending their actions? Because you're feeling guilty about treating her badly in the past?"

Sarah didn't reply to that. She knew Charley might have a point, she knew she might have developed an unwanted weak spot for the girls, some kind of motherly feelings she didn't want to admit to herself.

 **-0-**

While the three stood in front of Morris' home in Van Nuys, Cameron and Alison suddenly tensed.

"The two intruders have just stopped pacing and are standing close together now. Looks like Lauren's SMS was received."

"You have your targets," John said. "You know what to do."

* * *

Morris sat on the sofa, trembling with fear. They had come in the night, surprising him and his family in their sleep. He knew the type. The tattoos, the long hair and the mustachios, intended to make them look intimidating. Gang members. One of them over six feet tall, the other one a bit shorter and fatter but very muscular, like a wrestler. They carried guns with silencers.

He had lived in Westlake in his early childhood and knew what it meant to grow up in gang territory. The family moved to Van Nuys as soon as his father earned enough money to afford it. He cursed himself for the nth time for telling everyone at the birthday party about meeting John, Cameron and Lauren at Magic Mountain. Looks like the first thing his classmate did, was dialing the number on the card he was handed, probably hoping for a quick buck.

 _"Lauren,"_ he thought. _"I suppose this will be the end to my chances for dating her."_

They had taken his cellphone and forced him to tell them the code, threatening his sister, who had been sobbing uncontrollably. They found the message log with Lauren from the night before and moved his parents and sister to the bedroom where they tied them up and gagged them. However, they'd left him unconstrained in the living room, probably as a decoy.

Morris remembered the faces of his mom and dad and his little sister. They were terrified of course, with no idea what was going on. Morris also didn't have any idea what was going on. He only had the nagging feeling that he knew less about John and Cameron than he'd thought. What the hell did they have to do with a Latino street gang?

"Don't worry, amigo," they'd said, "we just want to lure your friend here. He owes us money. Then we'll leave and if you keep your mouths shut, nothing will happen to you or your family."

Suddenly, he heard the ringtone of his cellphone, indicating a new SMS.

"Finally!" the big one exclaimed and jumped up, the fat one following his motion, both staring at Morris' cellphone.

"She'll be here in 30 minutes. Excellent."

Morris frowned. Lauren was in a wheel chair, she couldn't come here alone, a fact he hadn't told them in the hope John would smell the trap. What was going on? Suddenly, a gentle knock on the front door pulled him out of his thoughts. The two villains drew their guns and gestured Morris to check who it was. While they positioned themselves to the left and the right of the door, leaning their backs against the wall, Morris carefully turned the knob, opening the door up just a little.

"John?" he asked confused.

"Morning, Morris. We thought you could use some help. And I'm sorry for the damage."

"Damage? What damage do you…"

Before he could finish his sentence, there was a loud crashing noise of splintering wood. Two pairs of arms broke through the outer wall of the house where the two thugs stood, each one grabbing one of them around the waist. In a quick motion, the two gangsters were pulled out of the house along with a big chunk of the wall, leaving two man-sized holes where they'd stood. Before Morris could react to that, John pushed the door open and entered the house.

"Don't panic," he said. "Everything's under control."

"Who? What?" Morris stammered in disbelief and stared at the two huge holes in the wall left and right of the front door.

The next thing he saw was Alison and Cameron carrying the two unconscious gangsters into the house. On their shoulders. As if they didn't weigh anything.

"Morning, Morris," Alison said.

"Morning, Morris," Cameron echoed her sister.

They threw their load unceremoniously to the ground with a loud thud and John closed the door – not that it made any difference anymore now. He took the bad guys' guns and handed them over to his girlfriends. Morris stood there for a moment, then a realization hit him.

"My parents! My sister! They're tied up in the bedroom, I gotta free them."

He turned around to run up the stairs, but Cameron caught his arm, holding him back.

"No," she said, and as much as Morris tried to, he couldn't free himself from her iron grip.

"Let me go, Cameron!" he exclaimed. "You're hurting me."

"They mustn't know what we're about to show and tell you," John explained. "Please, sit down and listen. We'll be gone again soon but please hear us out, okay?"

"What's going on, man?" Morris asked with a worried face. "What do these guys want from you? And what just happened?" He looked at the two unconscious gangsters and then at Cameron and Alison. "How the hell did you do that?"

"Please remain calm," Alison said. "Remember, we're your friends."

"Cam, please let Morris' go. We don't want to frighten him."

Cameron did as John had told her, and Morris tumbled back a few steps.

"Ouch," he yelped and rubbed his upper arm. "You didn't have to hurt me."

"Sorry," Cameron replied with an apologizing face and gently pushed Morris down onto the sofa.

Alison searched through the guys' pockets, found a remote car key and handed it to John. He pushed the button and through the holes in the wall they could see that the hazards of the Lincoln Navigator flashed.

"Yeah, as I suspected, that car belongs to them," he said.

"And these must be the pictures," Alison stated and held up four color photo prints. "Three of them show us and one shows the parking ticket behind the windscreen of Lauren's Jeep. Indeed all were taken while we were busy in Chola's yard."

The pictures showed them while they'd been loading the bags with money and the gold from the RAM into the Jeep. And by the angle they could tell they were taken from across the street, probably from the upper floor of a house or maybe an attic. Alison handed John the men's driver's licenses.

"Joaquín Suárez and Dario Castro."

Alison was looking at the fat one of the two gangsters, scanning his skeletal structure. "I've seen this guy. Dario."

"You did?"

"Yes. He was one of the men who guarded Carlos' house. He didn't wear a shirt and used to wear sunglasses."

"And the other guy?"

"Haven't seen him before."

"Do you think Chola could be involved in this?"

"I don't know. But I doubt she would be that stupid."

Morris couldn't contain himself anymore.

"How did you break through the wall?" he asked, looking at the two gaping holes that were left next to the front door. "And how could you have known those guys were standing there?"

"Infrared sensors," Cameron and Alison replied in synchrony and they both let their irises flash red for a moment.

"HOLY SHIT!" Morris attempted to climb over the backrest of the sofa in panic. "You're vampires!"

"Relax, buddy," John said and held him back, sitting down next to him. "They're _not_ vampires. I'll explain everything to you, okay? If you let me."

"But... they… what… how…?"

"Cam, would you please show Morris your shotgun wound?"

Cameron placed her gun on the table and took off her tee shirt. Morris gulped, seeing her only in a bra for the first time. Then she removed the patch on her belly and immediately Morris started hyperventilating as he saw the wound and the shiny metal parts underneath it.

"HOLY SHIT!"

"Please remain calm," Cameron said. "I'm not in pain, it's only superficial."

"Fucking hell!" Morris exclaimed. "Who are you? _What_ are you?"

"The most important fact first," John stated. "Cameron and Alison are _not_ my sisters..."

"No shit, man!"

"... they're my girlfriends."

"WHAT!?"

"It's a long story," John said. "But I'll try to be brief."

 **-0-**

 **Sunday, June 22nd, 2008 – 05:47 a.m.**

 **Van Nuys**

"We're not finished here yet," John said to his mother on the phone from inside Morris' home. "We still need to find out if these two acted on their own or if there are more people involved. Alison will clarify that."

 _"Did you guys bring Morris into it already?"_

"Uh… yeah, just finished explaining, well… everything to him actually."

 _"How did he take it?"_

"Uh… quite well," John said, turning to look at Morris who sat on the sofa apathetically, staring into the distance with a blank face. "Though I'd say it was a little overwhelming for him."

 _"Lauren would like to talk to him. Can you hand him your phone?"_

"Sure. Hey, buddy…"

Morris didn't react. John snapped his fingers in front of his face.

"Huh?" Morris uttered and slowly looked up at John.

"Telephone for you."

Almost in slow motion, Morris took the phone and held it to his ear, still staring blankly ahead.

"Yeah?"

 _"Morris? It's me, Lauren. How are you? Are you okay?"_

"Uh-huh."

 _"Just to inform you, our date is still on,"_ she said cheerfully.

"Uh-huh."

 _"Are you sure you're okay?"_

"Yeah…"

 _"Ooo-kay… see you later then, at the barbecue, right?"_

"Uh-huh."

 _"Bye."_

John took his phone back from Morris.

 _"John?" Sarah asked, "If there's a problem, please call, okay?"_

"Sure, mom. But frankly you can all go back to sleep now."

 _"Will do. Love you."_

"Love you too, mom."

John put away his phone.

"Cam, you can put your tee shirt back on again now. And then wake these idiots up."

"Yes, John."

After Cameron was fully dressed again, she and Alison stepped towards the two unconscious men, grabbed them by their throats and lifted them up with one arm. Morris gasped loudly.

"That's one of their signature moves," John said smiling while sitting next to him, trying to calm his friend down. "Only with bad guys of course. It's very effective."

"No shit."

With their free hands, both girls slapped the villains' cheeks. Slowly they stirred to life, recognized their current predicament and reacted by desperately trying to struggle free, which was of course in vain. John stood up and stepped behind Cameron and Alison. The two Latinos focused on him.

"You really have no idea what mess you've gotten yourself into, haven't you?" he asked, then handed each of the girls one of the guys' guns. "Show them."

Cameron and Alison took the guns, held them in front of the panicking men's faces, then let their eyes glow in a deep red and squashed the pistols into an unshapely piece of metal with their fingers.

"You should know," John said, "that these two beautiful girls here have a knack for killing scum like you."

Both girls smiled in pride. John had called them _beautiful_.

"So, here's the deal," John continued. "I wanna know how you got your hands on these pictures, who took them, who keeps the original files, and who else is behind your ludicrous attempt to lure us into a trap." He paused for a moment. "First one to answer will live."

"It's just us and Pablo Morales!" Dario stated quickly.

"Pablo took the pictures!" Joaquín said at almost the same moment.

"He's a lookout for the gang. He saw that the garbage bags you were loading onto the Jeep, were full of cash. And he saw you loading the gold as well. He informed us and we thought we could get a piece of the cake without informing the gang leaders."

"So, nobody except the two of you and Pablo know about it?"

"No, nobody!"

John looked at Cameron.

"Dario was point one of a second faster to answer," she stated. "Should I kill Joaquín now?"

"No, please no! Por favor!" Joaquín whined.

"Nah, I'd say it's a draw," John said, enjoying the situation immensely. "Both can live. Under one condition: I never want to see your sorry asses again and if you ever tell anyone what happened here tonight, I'll send my two girls after you and soon after you will be dead. Comprende?"

"¡Si, señor!"

"¡Si, señor!"

"Okay," John said, "let them down."

The girls let them drop to the floor like where they gasped for air, then struggled back on their feet. John handed them their deformed guns.

"Keep these as a souvenir," he remarked with a smirk.

They took them wordlessly, gave the girls one more frightened look and stumbled out of the house, ran to their car and drove away with screeching tires.

* * *

"I invited a robot to the prom…" Morris stammered.

"Cyborg!" John, Cameron and Alison corrected him in unison, then the three looked at each other and chuckled.

Morris looked at them befuddled, wondering what was funny about the whole situation.

"Remember, I warned you about Cameron back then," John said with a smile.

"I get it now," Morris replied, "She's never been your sister, she's a killer cyborg. No wonder she's been so dark all the time. Have you been together already... back then in school, I mean?"

John and Cameron looked at each other.

"We weren't officially together back then," John stated, "and of course there was only one Cameron then. But we're officially together now, all three of us. We share a room."

"Far out man," Morris said, still a little foggy.

"Anything else you wanna know?" Alison asked.

"The day before you disappeared," Morris began and looked at Cameron, "I caught up with you on the parking lot, remember?"

"Of course," Cameron said. "I remember everything."

"You said you put a man in the trunk of that fancy Merc, a man who you just killed. That wasn't a joke, was it?"

"No," Cameron replied. "He had been following us all day and was a threat to John."

Morris scoffed.

"And I thought you just had a very dark sense of humor."

John handed Morris a glass of water which he gladly took and emptied in one gulp.

"Feeling better now? You look a little pale, buddy."

Morris gave John and exasperated look.

"How would _you_ feel if your best friend discloses to you that the girl you had the hots for, is a murderous cyborg from the future?"

"Pretty bad, I guess," John replied and sat down next to him. "But they're not murderous. Maybe a little kill-happy, that's all."

Morris looked at his friend, not sure if John was joking or not.

"I need to go now," Alison said and went over to the back wall of the living room, removing a picture from the wall, uncovering a safe behind it.

"How did you know there was a safe behind the...?" Morris asked, then reconsidered. "Never mind. Sensors, right?"

"Correct," Alison confirmed. "I wouldn't have been able to detect it if the walls would be made of stone or concrete, but wood in general doesn't offer much of a resistance for our scanners. We can easily spot heat signatures through wooden walls and also detect metal."

"Of course you do," the boy replied and laughed out hysterically and began breathing heavily again. "Everybody knows that cyborgs can do that, right?"

"Don't freak out, okay?" John said. "Try to keep calm. There, that's better. Do you know the safe's combination?"

"Who, me? No. Why?"

"Never mind then," Alison stated and ripped the whole safe out of the wall.

"What is she doing, man!?" Morris asked flabbergasted.

"It will be needed as evidence." Alison explained. "We have to create a cover story, giving the police and your family an explanation of what has happened. A robbery is the most believable scenario."

Alison prepared to leave, the safe tucked under her arm.

"Be careful," John said to her. "Stick to the plan."

"Of course, John. Kiss me?" she asked.

He smiled, kissed her tenderly and then she left the house.

"Where's she going, man?" Morris asked. "All of my mom's jewelry is in that safe."

"She's following those idiots. We put a tracking device on their car. Don't worry, you'll get the jewelry back."

"Following them? She's not going to... is she?"

"She'll be retrieving the original files with the pictures, place the evidence for the police and then will end it once and for all before the three idiots can spread their knowledge. It's necessary, believe me. There's too much money involved for them to remain silent. Eventually, they'll seek help from their gang. We cannot allow that to happen."

Morris gulped.

"You're freaking me out, dude."

John sighed.

"I know," he said. "You have to make a choice now, Morris. Either we stay friends and you come to the barbecue this afternoon, hook up with Lauren, have fun and go on a date with her, or…"

"Or what?"

"Or you stay away from us," Cameron replied. "Which means going on with your life. No more seeing John, not getting a date with Lauren and no more seeing me again as well. We'd have to keep an eye on you, though, just in case."

"What if someone asks me about you?"

"Nobody will ask you about us," John said. "We're quite sure of that. If you keep your mouth shut, you and your family are safe. But if the highly unlikely should happen and someone should ask you about us, you can always contact us. We will get back to you as soon as possible - just like today."

"Lauren would be really disappointed if you kept your distance," Cameron added. "She likes you very much."

"She does?" Morris said, his face brightening a bit.

"Yes, buddy. If it weren't for her, we wouldn't be here now."

"I didn't have a girlfriend yet," Morris stated. "All the girls think I'm a loner, a nerd, a loser."

"I never thought about you like that," Cameron said empathically. "And neither does Lauren. High school isn't life."

Morris frowned and looked at her.

"You've changed since last year," he observed. "You became… less cold. Less... autistic."

"Thanks," she replied. "I've been improving. I guess I'm making progress."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Suppose your house wouldn't have blown up and you wouldn't have disappeared," Morris said and looked at Cameron with a sly smile. "Would I have had a chance of getting together with you?"

"No."

"Figures."

* * *

Morris was tied up loosely and gagged by Cameron, so that he could free himself after a couple of minutes and then free his family as well. They made sure that Morris memorized the license plate of the Lincoln Navigator to give it to the police. John had also deleted all text messages between Morris and Lauren from his cellphone, just in case.

With the input they were given, Morris' family and the police could only believe what seemed to be obvious: two Latino gangsters had invaded their home, tied everyone up, forced Morris to tell them where the safe was, then stole it because they couldn't get it open. Out of pure vandalism, they broke two large holes in the outside wall of the house before driving away, not without Morris being able to spot their vehicle through the holes. If Alison fulfilled her part of the plan as well, nobody would have a reason to doubt the story, and the truth would forever remain unknown.

To explain why the two gangsters had come to their house in the first place, Morris was willing to tell his family and the police a fake story in which he'd bragged about his mother's valuable jewelry in front of strangers. John knew that Morris would stammer and hum and err, which would make it even more believable. And if the police would later compare the fingerprints and find out who owned the Lincoln Navigator, they'd conclude that Joaquín Suárez and Dario Castro were the two culprits. But by then, they'd be dead already.

* * *

It was half past six in the morning when John and Cameron entered the driveway of their home again. All curtains were closed, the house silent. Before they had left, everyone had agreed that they'd have a brunch at 11 a.m. That way, no lunch was needed before the barbecue would start in the late afternoon.

John was in a strangely euphoric mood when they entered the house. Maybe it was the adrenaline surge, maybe the joy and pride that his plan had worked out so perfectly. So, as soon as they'd entered their bedroom and closed the door, he grabbed Cameron, swung her around against the wall and kissed her hard and passionately without saying a word. She immediately reacted with kissing him back in the same manner, plunging her tongue into his mouth in wild passion.

They quickly undressed each other, being rougher and more wanton than normal. As soon as they were naked, John whirled her around again and threw her on the bed. She landed on her back, smiling seductively, and slowly spread her legs as wide as possible, juices already seeping out of her vulva.

"Fuck me, John," she begged in a sultry tone.

John looked at her for a couple of seconds, then climbed onto the bed, grabbed her by the legs and inserted his hard member into her pussy in one swift move. As he started to hump her, she wrapped her legs around his back and pulled him as deep as possible. She was so wet that it made squelching noises as he fucked her hard and fast. With loud slapping sounds, he rammed his loins against the underside of her thighs. She pulled him close and licked his mouth, his nose, his cheeks, his closed eyelids. It was wild, rough sex and it was the first time for both of them.

After only ten minutes, John came hard in her and groaned loudly. Shortly after, Cameron orgasmed as well. Then he collapsed on top of her. His breathing slowed down as they kissed long and passionately.

"We made a mess," he said exhausted.

"Yes," she agreed blissfully. "A mess."

"I have no idea what got into me, I suddenly just wanted to fuck you so badly."

She put her finger over his mouth.

"Shh, it's okay, I also wanted you badly."

"So, uh… you didn't mind me being a bit rough?"

"I loved it. You cannot hurt me, remember? Rough doesn't bother me, you can fuck me like that whenever you want."

She stroked through his hair and kissed him again.

"And Alison will love it, too."

John tried to loosen himself from her but somehow he couldn't get free.

"Say, are you clamping my penis down there?" he asked grinning.

"Yessss… I want to keep you inside me," she said with a wicked smile and licked his earlobe. "Your dick is now where it belongs, where it always should be. I want you to get hard again while you're inside of me, and then fuck me some more."

"Mmmh, kinky… I like your thinking, Cam."

"But this time," she said and threw him around on his back, "I want to be the one on top, John. _I_ want to fuck _you_."

John didn't object. He felt how she started to play with his dick with her vaginal muscles. For a second or so, John asked himself if she really had muscles inside there or if it was something else. He quickly discarded the thought, though, and enjoyed what she was doing to him. Because it felt great, as if a soft, velvet hand was slowly stroking his cock while it was inside her vagina.

It didn't take long for him to get hard again. Then Cameron started riding him, slowly at first, then faster and faster, never letting his penis slip out of her. She leaned back and he could see his member gliding in and out of her sopping wet pussy.

When he came again, she kept leaning back, eyes closed, her body jerking in pleasure as she climaxed as well. Then she bent down and kissed him again. They rolled to their sides and pulled each other as close as possible, his cock still inside her pussy. John felt her hard nipples pressing against his chest. They were kissing each other for many minutes, full of unconditional love, their bodies entwined, trying to touch and feel the maximum of each other's skin. In that moment, they felt like they were one.

"I love you, John," she breathed between two kisses.

"I love you more," he replied.

"Impossible," she said. "I'm a machine, my love is absolute and unable to weaken, ever."

John chuckled and she smiled back at him.

"I'm not gonna win this competition, am I?" he asked.

"Nope, John Connor," she replied in her stoic Terminator tone. "Admit that you have no chance against the power of my love and surrender yourself to me."

"All right, all right, I surrender," he said chuckling. "What are the conditions?"

"Only one condition," she stated with a wicked smile, "I want you to fuck me and Alison as much as possible and in as many ways as possible."

"I think I can arrange that."

"We're always at your disposal, John. Anytime, anywhere, any place, any situation."

"Sounds like you're planning on making yourselves indispensable," he replied grinning.

"You bet," she confirmed and kissed him again. "And John?"

"Yes?"

"I really love it when you're rough and hard with me. It makes me feel even more alive."

He gulped upon hearing that statement.

* * *

When Alison came home about two hours later, she found John sleeping, with Cameron hugging him tight.

 _"Did everything go as planned?"_ she whispered not to wake him.

 _"Yes,"_ Alison whispered back and held up an SD card in her hand.

Then she locked the door, undressed and lay down on John's other side.

 _"You had sex?"_ she asked.

 _"Yes, rough sex,"_ Cameron replied. _"Let's talk about it later. I have an idea, I think there's something John might like very much."_

 **-0-**

 **Sunday, June 22nd, 2008 – 11:17 a.m.**

 **Burbank**

They watched the local news while having breakfast. There was a report of a house that had burned down in Inglewood due to an electrical failure. Three male occupants of the house were found dead. Two of them in their beds, the third one in the bathroom. They had died from smoke poisoning.

"That is the house opposite of Chola's," Sarah stated in surprise. She looked at Alison and Cameron. "Did you…?"

John held up the SD card.

"Not before securing this," he said. "And I hope this time we have really seen the last of those gangsters."

Charley sat at the table in silence, pushing his fork into his food without eating anything.

"Something wrong, Charley?" Sarah asked.

He looked up and into her face.

"I'm still not sure if I can cope with your lifestyle," he said, "treating death and killing like normal daily rituals."

"We had to help Morris and his family," Sarah replied, "you know firsthand what it means to be a target, you once sought our help as well, knowing it could have dire consequences."

Charley put down his fork and covered his face with his hands.

"I don't disagree with helping Morris," he said, "but the way you dismiss all those killings has nothing to do with defending yourself against those cyborgs anymore."

"Charley…" John started but Charley didn't let him finish.

"I can understand Derek. He's a soldier, he's been in battle, I've seen his scars. But seeing you, Johnny, and you, Sarah, so unconcerned about killing humans, I… it really breaks my heart."

John looked Charley directly into the eyes.

"Don't even think for a moment I'm unconcerned," he said in a stern voice. "Do you have any idea what it's like to know all your life what will happen when you grow up? I've had nightmares ever since I was twelve years old. Nightmares about killer cyborgs following me, nightmares about the nuclear holocaust, nightmares about the world being a radioactive wasteland, nightmares about me fighting the machines in the rubble of what used to be America. I know that mom has had similar dreams. The both of us hadn't had a good night's sleep for years, I have been _so_ close to becoming insane in the past months. And finally, after all those years, after losing almost all hope, there's a silver lining. Suddenly, there's a chance of defeating Skynet once and for all. I'm not going to allow anything to happen that could take away that silver lining, Charley. Absolutely nothing."

"No, of course not… but I'm quite sure that doesn't include killing uninvolved people," Charley replied.

"Of course it doesn't. But for the first time, we have a real chance of winning this war before it really starts. That's why we can't allow those petty criminals to thwart us. We must at all costs avoid fighting on two fronts. There was a real danger those gangsters would have found us here. And what then, huh? What would you have done then, Charley? What would you have done if they'd come here and threatened us in our home, if they'd taken Lauren, mom or you hostage?"

Charley lowered his head and didn't reply.

"Tomorrow we'll drive to Oregon," Cameron said. "We'll have a whole week to relax and talk things over. I'm sure that everything will be fine after that."

Charley scoffed.

"I'm getting a pep-talk from a cyborg while at the same time becoming disillusioned by humans. When did my life become so screwed up?"

He stood up and went upstairs. Sarah was about to follow him, but Derek held her back.

"Let him go. He needs to be alone with his thoughts for a while, sort out his feelings and priorities."

"But what if he decides to leave?" Sarah asked, apparently dreading that.

"He won't, mom." John replied. "His love for you is stronger. He'll come around."

"He was right about one thing, though," Lauren said.

"And what was that?" Derek asked.

"You _should_ be careful with who's getting killed and if they really deserve it. We're supposed to be the good ones, right? We're supposed to be better than the enemy, aren't we?"

Nobody replied to that. They knew she was right and that they were walking a very fine line.

 **-0-0-0-**

 ** _Author's note:_**

 ** _The vision of a rough sex scene came to my mind while being in bed with a cold at around 3 a.m. in the morning. My body was filled with drugs and herbal tea, so…_**


	15. Back from the dead (revised)

**_CHAPTER 15: "BACK FROM THE DEAD" (revised)_**

* * *

After Charley had left the breakfast table in a very upset state, Sarah tried to change the topic.

"Just so you know," she said, "I also invited James Ellison to the barbecue."

Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"Didn't we agree to not meet again with Catherine or James until next weekend?" Derek asked. "Didn't we agree that our communication should be via a secure phone connection only?"

"We agreed to that," Sarah replied without further explaining why she had changed her mind.

John, Derek and the girls looked at each other in puzzlement.

"Uh… mom?"

"Yes, John?"

"James doesn't know about Alison yet."

"He'll learn about her when he gets here."

"Didn't we also agree to keep Alison the ace up our sleeves?" Derek asked.

Sarah nodded slowly.

"I gave that some thought," she finally replied. "I feel we owe them the truth. We agreed to be honest and truthful with each other. Keeping Alison's existence a secret until we attack Skynet, would violate that agreement. So, in the spirit of our newly founded alliance, I decided to invite James, so we can fill him in."

"Then why didn't you invite Catherine as well?" John asked.

"I did, but James said she has plans for the weekend – whatever that means."

"James will be extremely uncomfortable with two of _them_ ," Derek said and pointed at Cameron and Alison.

"True," Sarah admitted, "but there's another good reason for having James here."

"Oh?" John asked, "What reason?"

"Well, he's ex-FBI, which means he'll be the perfect conversational partner for Trevor."

"Trevor's your neighbor's fiancé, right?" Lauren asked.

"Yes, and he's a cop," John confirmed. "L.A.P.D., homicide department."

"And he's a nosy one," Sarah added. "When I brought Kacy to the hospital during her pregnancy, he suddenly showed up and immediately started asking me questions. So I figured that we need someone who can get him into conversations, distract him a little, draw his attention away from the girls, keep his curiosity at bay. James is the obvious choice for that job."

John nodded.

"Good thinking, mom. As a former special agent, James Ellison has a high reputation within the police force. We'll appear much more credible when we introduce him as a friend of the family."

"It lowers the risk of arousing suspicion," Derek agreed.

Sarah smiled, then looked at Cameron and Alison.

"I hope I can count on you two not freaking James out again," she stated in a slightly threatening tone.

"If he's freaked out about us…"

"… it's actually his perception and not our behavior."

John cleared his throat and they looked at him.

"Yeah, well," he said with a smirk, "it could also have to do with the fact that you threw him around in his own house like a rag doll and went into his yard at night in search for Cromartie's body."

"Anyway," Sarah continued, "he agreed to come and also said that he's bringing a ' _present_ ' for our team from Catherine Weaver, something that will help us with fighting other cyborgs."

"What could that be?" Lauren asked, sounding intrigued.

"One of those plasma guns would be cool," John stated, "like the one from the bank vault, remember?"

"That had only one shot and couldn't be recharged," Alison argued. "Ineffective against multiple targets. The technology for energy weapons with enough firing capacity hasn't been developed yet."

"But it was cool nevertheless," John said smiling. "It evaporated Cromartie's biological shell and blew his head off. I'd like to have one."

"Boys and toys," Lauren commented, and everyone chuckled.

"There is something else we need to address," Derek stated.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"Storage."

"What do you mean?" John enquired.

"I mean that we currently store most of our weapons, ammo and explosives in a warehouse down at the port. Twice a week we travel back and forth between here and there, driving for an hour in each direction. That is ineffective. We need permanent storage here at the house, if you plan on keeping it as the safe house."

"Permanent storage of ammunition and explosives in a residential neighborhood?" John asked with a frown. "I don't even want to think of the potential catastrophic consequences."

"Also don't forget that this place is only rented," Sarah added. "The owners will return from Japan in a couple of months. We'll have to relocate sooner or later. Wouldn't make much sense to move all the stuff here, knowing we'll have to move it out again anyway."

"I'm just saying that our current logistics are ineffective and even outright dangerous," Derek defended his standpoint. "We need to have a certain supply here because the warehouse is so far away. Storing guns, ammo and C4 in a wooden shed that creaks in the wind, isn't safe. And I don't necessarily mean the possibility of an accident. This place has been robbed before. We need something like an ammunition bunker. I'm suggestion digging one into the mountain slope behind the house."

"You're right," John said. "We need something like that. And we should keep that in mind. But it's something we should address _after_ the attack on Skynet. Too much depends on the outcome of that assault and we shouldn't get ourselves distracted with too many to-do's. The storage problem is only a minor concern right now."

"I agree," Sarah declared. "Your idea is good, Derek, and your worries are justified. But frankly now that we have the money, we should consider buying a place of our own. A place where we can start making considerable modifications."

"Pity though," John stated and looked around. "This place is ideal. Hidden behind trees and bushes, no jogging paths, no hiking trails. Quick access to the interstate, mountain range behind us. People need to _want_ to come here, there are no accidental passersby. We could turn this into a fortress, if we wanted to."

"Kacy is the official caretaker, right?" Derek asked. "Maybe we can address this topic today at the barbecue. Who knows? Maybe the owners are interested in selling."

"Good idea," John remarked.

"It's worth considering," Sarah agreed. "Anyway, Derek is right about the danger of storing that stuff here. Today we'll have a barbecue and tomorrow we'll be gone for a week. We can't risk people sniffing around to find the shed full of weapons and ammunition. I'll drive to the storage with one of the girls and we'll put our stuff there for as long as we're gone. We only keep the most necessary equipment - hand guns and some ammo, com devices, night vision goggles, armored vests. No army rifles and no C4. What do you say, Cameron? Feel like giving me a hand?"

"Of course, Sarah, I can even give you two."

Everyone grinned or chuckled, including Cameron. John realized she'd actually made that pun on purpose.

"Why you?" Derek asked, looking at Sarah. "Why don't I drive there? After all, it's my stuff, I set that drop up with my people."

"Yes, we know that already," Sarah replied with a smirk and padded Derek on the shoulder. "You always complain about my cooking, now you've got the chance to show how you can do better. You, John and Charley will prepare the grill meat and everything else. After all, barbecues are a man's thing, right? Lauren, feeling fit enough to help them?"

"Sure," she said, looking up from her cellphone.

"Are you texting Morris?" John asked smiling.

"Yeah."

"Any news?"

"The police just left their place. Everything seems to have worked out according to your plan."

"Will he be coming?"

"Just asked him again, waiting for an answer now… oh wait, here it comes."

"And?" John asked.

"He asks if he can come here now already," Lauren replied with a frown.

"Now already? Does he say why?"

"He wrote he's going stir-crazy at home right now."

"What do you think, mom?"

"Well, it was your decision to include him," Sarah remarked. "You better be prepared to live with the consequences."

"Alright," John said, "tell him it's okay with us."

"Don't text him our address, though," Derek added quickly, receiving an annoyed look from John. "I know, I know, you trust him, John, but we shouldn't take any risks. Text him to wait at the parking lot of ' _Toys"R"Us'_ on Chandler Boulevard."

Lauren did as Derek had requested.

"How do you know there's a _'Toys"R"Us'_ on Chandler?" John asked amused.

"Hey, don't forget I grew up here," Derek replied defensively.

"Right," Lauren said, "message sent. Who's going to pick him up?"

"Someone who can quickly determine if he comes alone or not," Derek suggested.

Everyone turned to look at Alison.

 **-0-**

Morris was at the agreed meeting point half an hour later. He parked his scooter and waited for someone to arrive and pick him up. It hadn't been easy to get away from home in the current situation. His parents and his sister had been severely affected by the assault in their home early in the morning. They tried to keep the family together, but Morris was able to convince them that a day out of the house and spending time with his friend John was what he needed the most right now. His parents knew how happy he'd been to have met him again at Magic Mountain yesterday and had reluctantly agreed.

The early morning events somehow seemed unreal to Morris, like a bad dream. But the two holes on either side of the front door were too real. And he couldn't forget the devilish, red glow in the eyes of the Cameron, the girl he'd once tried to hit on. Only that she wasn't a girl and had never been one. She was in fact some fancy robot from the future that only _looked_ like a girl. Or at least that's how he understood what John had explained. Morris' brain wasn't really running on all cylinders at the time.

He was still lost in his thoughts when a black Chevrolet Suburban with tinted windows stopped right next to him. The driver's window was moved down, and he was greeted with a friendly smile.

"Hi Morris."

"Um… hi… Alison, right?" He realized he had never seen her smile before.

"That's me. Should we store your scooter in the back?"

"Sure. If it fits…"

"I'll fold down the backseats, then it will."

"Awesome."

Alison got out of the big SUV and opened the left rear door to fold down one half of the backseats, creating a plane surface. Then she went around to the other side and repeated the same there.

"But you're actually Cameron, right?" Morris asked while he watched her, "you have just been named differently so there won't be a mix-up."

"Yes." Alison replied. "We are identical in almost every way."

"Almost?"

"I'm ten days older than her."

"Because you traveled back in time."

"Correct."

Alison opened the back doors of the Suburban and compared the measurements and capacity of the loading space with the measurements of the scooter. Then she looked around if anyone watched them. But it was a Sunday, and the parking lot was almost empty, they were alone. She picked up Morris' scooter and pushed it inside the back of the vehicle in the best possible angle, then closed the doors.

"Whoa," Morris commented. "I've never seen somebody lifting that up so effortlessly."

"My physical strength surpasses yours more than a hundredfold."

"Yeah, I gathered as much when I saw what you did with the gun of that guy, not to mention the walls of our house. Does it hurt when you push through a solid wooden wall with your fist like that?"

Alison took place in the driver's seat again and Morris entered at the passenger side.

"I feel everything my skin touches," she explained. "But I don't feel any pain in the way you can feel it, if that's what you mean. I'm aware of the fact that my flesh has been damaged. It's a sensation I can localize and feel but it's not really painful. More like a little annoying."

"Can I… I mean…" Morris turned red. "Can I… touch you? Just to see how it feels?"

Alison looked at him for a second, then stretched out her right arm.

"Sure."

Morris carefully examined her arm with his hands, feeling her fingers, her wrist and her lower arm up to her elbow. She watched him with a curious expression.

"Amazing," he said in astonishment. "You even have the tiny hairs and small skin blemishes. I mean, you have beautiful skin, make no mistake. Only I was expecting it to be more…"

"More?"

"… flawless. Like, smooth and without hair and moles and…"

"My skin is designed to be convincing, not to be perfect."

"And you're really warm. Like… human-warm. And… oh my God… you have no pulse."

"I don't have a heart. Well, at least not in a biological sense."

"What do you mean?" Morris asked confused.

"Have you ever read _'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'_ by L. Frank Baum?"

"I… uh… saw the movie as a child."

"I'm like the Tin Man. Sarah, John's mother, still calls me _'Tin Miss'_ sometimes. In _'The Wizard of Oz'_ , the Tin Man realizes at the end that he doesn't need a heart to feel love and friendship and compassion. Same goes for me. I don't need a heart to have sensation, feelings and emotions."

Morris didn't know how to reply to that. He was a little embarrassed and overwhelmed.

"So, I take it you're, like, reading a lot?" he asked after a moment to change the topic.

"Yes. I don't sleep. And I have a close friend who works at the library at night. He also helped me developing my social skills."

"Cool. That trick with your eyes… I mean… the red light… can you do that again?"

Cameron let her eyes glow in a deep red.

"Wicked!" he exclaimed.

"I can also do blue," she replied with a smile and made her eyes glow blue.

"That looks really cool," Morris stated. "Like the Snow Queen... you know, from that fairy tale."

"I don't know that particular fairy tale but thank you, I guess."

"You're welcome."

"Morris?"

"Yes?"

"Can I have my arm back now? I need it for driving."

"Oh! Ya, sure." He said and let go of her arm.

"Thank you."

She started the engine, turned the car around and entered the boulevard again.

"Sooo… you and John are…"

"I'm his girlfriend. Cameron is, too."

"Isn't that… kinda weird? I mean for John?"

"No. Why? John knows we are one."

"But… physically you aren't. Two girls, two bodies. Right?"

She looked at him.

"What's your point?"

"Isn't that, like, complicated?"

Alison thought for a moment.

"No. Only sometimes exhausting."

"Exhausting?"

"For John."

Morris blushed and refrained from scrutinizing that any further.

"Uh… I see. So… you three live… um… together… in one room, I mean?"

"We share a room and a bed, yes. That's the only place in the house where we're allowed to have sex together."

Morris blushed even more because of her bluntness.

"Uh… yah… and… everyone is okay with that?"

She looked at him again.

"Everyone is now. John made it clear that he would stand by us and stay with us, no matter what."

Morris grinned and shook his head in disbelief.

"The lucky bastard."

"Pardon me?"

"You might have noticed that I had the hots for you. And now John has two of you. I envy him."

"You will have Lauren."

Morris blushed again.

"I will?"

"I believe so. She likes you very much."

"Do you know if… there is something I can do to… you know… impress her?"

Alison looked at him again in her expressionless way.

"No. You already have impressed her enough. Otherwise she wouldn't have invited you."

Morris smiled dreamily. Seeing that, Alison smiled as well.

"You know…" Morris began, "back at school last year… You once told me to pretend being John for that cop. You never told me why. Would you tell me now?"

"That wasn't a cop. It was a Terminator, a Triple-Eight, sent by Skynet to kill John. If John had been in your place when you faced him, he would be dead now."

"You're kidding me!"

"No."

"You mean that man was no man? He was like you? Only a male version?"

"Not as sophisticated as I am, but yes. A Terminator. Almost all Terminator models are male. They were built for combat. Only a few of us were female."

"So… you mean I actually saved John's life that day by impersonating him?"

She looked at him and smiled again.

"Yes. In a way, you did."

Morris smiled broadly.

"Awesome."

* * *

Five minutes later, they arrived at the Connor house. Morris was impressed.

"There aren't many of such houses anymore," he said, exiting the Suburban. "Not in L.A. at least."

"Yes," Alison agreed while unloading his scooter. "The brick walls prevent an enemy Terminator from scanning the inside."

John appeared on the terrace and started running down the stairs.

"Hey buddy, how are you?"

They fist-bumped.

"Glad you decided to come," John said. "Did you still get some sleep?"

"Not really. Maybe an hour. The police were there all morning."

"Yeah, Lauren told us. Come, let's go inside, I'll show you the house. Oh, are you hungry? We still have pancakes and bacon and eggs left."

"Thanks, I'm starving."

They climbed the stairs towards the front porch.

"Mom and Cam left for an errand. Derek, Charley and I are busy with the preparations for the barbecue. You could give us a hand, if you're up to it."

"Sure, just tell me what to do."

They entered the house and were received by a happily grinning Lauren in her wheel chair.

"Hey," Morris said and blushed.

"Hey," Lauren echoed, stood up and hugged him. "So glad you're well."

"Uh… only thanks to you," Morris answered and hesitantly hugged her back, carefully not to hurt her.

"Come with me if you want to eat," Alison said as she passed them by.

John couldn't help but laugh out loudly.

* * *

"I really need to thank you all," Morris mumbled with a mouth full of pancake. "Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't reacted so fast?"

Charley had come down again in a considerably better mood and joined them in the kitchen, where he was helping to prepare the meat. He was still looking peevish, though.

"So, you saw the girls in action," Lauren said enthusiastically. "What do you think of them?"

"Um… at first I was completely shocked," Morris replied, swallowing some bacon and eggs. "I mean, really shocked."

"Understandable," Derek commented.

"But all in all," Morris continued and swallowed, "it was really cool. They were like ninjas in some Asian action movie."

"And do you also know what happened to the two gangsters?" Charley asked and looked at him with a serious face.

"Uh, I guess so. John hinted to me they would get what they deserved." Morris looked from one to the other, seeking confirmation. "Did they?"

Charley huffed.

"Yeah, another case of judge, jury and executioner."

"Charley has a moral problem with some of the girls' actions," John explained to his frowning friend.

"I see." Morris said and looked at Charley. "I grew up in gang territory. I know these people. Threatening or warning them doesn't work. Their whole world is built upon terrorizing others, being the bigger badass. They wouldn't have stopped harassing you if you had spared their lives. They never back down. Sooner or later, innocent people would have died. I saw it in my childhood. It's better to finish it like that and move on. No need to look back and feel sorry."

"It still isn't right to simply kill people like that," Charley insisted stubbornly.

"Charley, do you believe I enjoyed it?" John asked. "Do you believe that Alison and Cameron kill for the fun of it? Because if you do, you haven't understood how we work. How _they_ work."

Charley wanted to say something, but then changed his mind and remained silent, returning to preparing the marinade for the meat.

"Has the police made the connection between the assault on you and the safe in the gangster's house yet?" John asked.

"Not that I know of."

"Will happen soon, I'm sure. Alison left enough evidence, didn't you?"

"Yes, John. I left the safe there and created leads that will make the police assume the house burned down because of an electrical failure."

"And… and you're sure they were acting alone, on their own? Others of their gang weren't involved?" Morris asked.

"Positive. I'm trained in interrogation. And they didn't really put up much resistance, to be honest."

"So… how do you like the food?" John asked, eager to change the topic while Charley looked at them grimly.

"It's really good. Did your mom make it?"

Everyone chuckled.

"What? Have I said something funny?"

"Nope, that was just an insider joke," John explained.

"Cameron and I prepared breakfast," Alison explained with an undeniable pride in her voice.

"You can also cook?" Morris asked. "Man, John, do you have any idea how lucky you are?"

John put his arm around Alison.

"I realize that more and more every minute."

Alison beamed at him and then kissed him.

"You're a lucky bastard," she declared.

"What?"

"That's what Morris said."

"Then it must be so," he stated and returned the kiss.

Lauren looked at them and smiled. Derek cleared his throat.

"Get a room, will ya?" he grumbled, but couldn't suppress a smile as well.

* * *

After Morris had finished eating, John showed him around.

"Really cool place," he commented.

"John, would you like to look at the pictures now?" Alison asked.

"Yeah, sure. Let's go to our room."

They entered the master bedroom where John had installed a desk below the window on which his PC and monitor rested.

"Nice hardware," Morris commented and John wasn't sure if he meant his impressive computer equipment or the king-sized bed. "Lots of space in here."

"Uh… yeah, and we have our own bathroom as well," John replied and switched on the PC.

"Can I take a look?"

"Sure."

Morris opened the door to the adjacent bathroom and whistled.

"Cool," he said, "I like vintage stuff like that. And this is all for real, right? Not the fake retro stuff you get today."

"The whole house is vintage," Alison explained, "it was built at the beginning of the last century. Everything's real and solid."

"Early 20th century then? Wow, for Los Angeles, that's ancient."

"I guess we're lucky the place has survived for so long without being torn down or modernized."

"They don't build them like this anymore."

"No, they don't," John agreed. "Thanks to the real estate boom, many classic houses are being demolished and replaced by more modern ones, especially in Hollywood, Beverly Hills or Bel Air. As soon as the owner dies, the bulldozers start rolling. It's really a shame. Wouldn't happen elsewhere, where they value their history. L.A. is such a fast-moving place, heritage doesn't seem to have a value here."

"Does the place have air con?"

"Nope, only ceiling fans. But it stays quite cool in here, thanks to the thick walls."

"And we're a thousand feet above sea level," Alison added. "It makes the summer heat more bearable. Cool air comes down from the mountains in the evenings and rushes through the house if we open the doors and windows."

John sat down at the PC and inserted the SD card Alison had brought. She took place to his left and Morris took the other chair to his right. He noticed that Alison immediately put her right arm around John's waist to be really close to him, and then she rested her head on his shoulder. John and Morris looked at each other and both had to smile, then John put his left arm around Alison.

"Looks like they weren't looking for us in particular," John declared after he'd started clicking through the pictures. "It seems like they photographed every single one of Chola's visitors on their way in and out again."

"She couldn't have known about that," Alison said, "otherwise she'd have told us."

"Yeah, maybe her gang surveilled her without her being aware of it."

"Chola's the one who got you the forged papers, right?" Morris asked.

"Yes." Alison confirmed.

"Frankly, the surveillance doesn't surprise me after Carlos and his crew were murdered by Sarkissian's killer," John stated.

"Hey, look, there's a picture of a cop." Morris said.

"I know him," Alison remarked. "He was there when Sarah and I first visited Carlos. Very nosy officer. Grimm character. I almost terminated him. Sarah stopped me in the last moment."

"The pictures show him entering and leaving Chola's house," Morris observed. "There, he's carrying a small package on the way back to his car. He's being paid for looking away, I reckon."

"Good guys suddenly turning bad, it breaks your heart" John sighed, "Chola bribed the bastard. No wonder their prices were so steep."

"Please jump to the pictures from Wednesday, John," Alison said and John complied with her request, scrolling down the folder until the date of the files matched that from Wednesday.

"See? Here's mom, Lauren and me entering the house."

"But no pictures of Javier and his two cronies arriving before."

"They entered the house from the back through the neighboring gardens," Alison explained. "But here, see? Their bodies are being thrown into the back of a Chevy Silverado by Chola's fellow gang members."

"Their bodies?" Morris asked uncomfortably.

"Yes, I killed them," Alison stated casually, causing Morris to gulp. "It was necessary, though, they were threatening to kill Sarah, Lauren and Chola. Go to Friday please, John."

"Ah yes, here are pictures of Hector and his guys, and Chola's brothers," John said. "And here you can see how they drag Chola away against her will and push her into a car. That must have been shortly before you arrived."

"Who are those guys?" Morris asked.

"They're members of the _'Loco Street Vandals'_ , a rivalling gang," John explained. "They wanted to force Chola into working for them."

"Why didn't anyone of Chola's gang interfere?"

"The street was empty, everyone was hiding in their houses," Alison replied. "According to Chola, the gang leaders were out of town. I suppose nobody wanted to risk a confrontation with Hector and his henchmen, so they just took the pictures and hoped that reinforcement would be there soon."

"There are pictures missing," Alison stated. "Some were deleted."

"How do you know?" John asked.

"All pictures were automatically named by the camera in sequence. There are 17 pictures missing from the SD card. Those must be the ones where we loaded the bodies of Hector and his henchmen into the Suburban."

John pulled out the hard copies of the pictures Joaquín and Dario had used to look for them.

"You're right," John agreed. "These printouts are missing. Also, all the pictures where we came back with the booty are missing. See? The next picture is one that shows us and Chola when the reloading had already happened."

"What booty?" Morris asked. "What reloading?"

Alison explained how they blew up the headquarters of the _"Loco Street Vandals"_ and left with their stash of money, gold and diamonds.

"WOOOOOOOW," Morris exclaimed, "that was you? Everyone thinks those idiots accidentally blew themselves up."

"And we want it to stay that way," John said. "Keep that knowledge to yourself, will you?"

"Nobody would believe me anyway. But what I don't understand is why they deleted those pictures only and not the other ones as well?"

"Hmmm…" John uttered thoughtfully.

"You have a theory?" Alison asked.

"Maybe…" John replied. "It could have been that they milked Chola's customers, blackmailing them about getting fake ID's. Maybe they'd planned the same with us but then they saw how Hector got killed. He was a pretty big shot in a rivaling gang. Maybe they got cold feet when they saw his dead body."

"Could be," Morris said.

"But when we came there again after we'd freed Chola, they saw us how we were handling bags full of money and about a ton of gold," John continued. "Seeing that, they probably changed their mind and became greedy, made close-ups of us, then printed them out and deleted the files, just in case."

"Could be," Alison agreed, "and then they went to Van Nuys, split up and went from school to school, looking for us. It's what I'd have done."

John kept on scrolling through the pictures, when Alison suddenly stiffened.

"Stop!" she said.

"What…?" John started to say, but she'd leaned over, grabbed the mouse from his hand, and scrolled back to one of the previous pictures.

John stared at the screen as she zoomed in.

"No way!" he exclaimed.

"Get Derek in here," Alison said. "Now!"

 **-0-**

The mood was tense. Derek stared at the screen that showed the picture of the slender woman with long, black hair and Asian features. She was wearing sunglasses and walked into Chola's driveway, turning around to check the area when the camera clicked and got a perfect view of her face.

"When was this taken?" he finally asked, rubbing his chin.

"Right after we left there on Friday," John replied.

"Could she have been following you there?"

"I didn't detect any car following me," Alison said.

"She's too clever for being detected," Derek stated. "She's familiar with cyborgs, remember?"

"A tracking device maybe?" John asked.

"Not on our cars," Alison replied. "Cameron and I always check our vehicles for manipulations before we enter them. We learned from our bad experience."

Everyone except Morris nodded in understanding.

"Who's that woman?" he asked curiously.

"Commander Jesse Flores," John said. "Australian Navy. Resistance fighter from the future."

"So... a friend of yours?"

"Not exactly," Alison replied. "She hates cyborgs, she's opposed to me and John being close. She tried to provoke me into killing Riley, a girl she brought back from the future to pose as John's girlfriend. She wanted to drive John and me apart and if John wouldn't have prevented it, I'd have killed her." Alison paused for a moment, then added: "She's a real bitch-whore."

Derek gave Alison an angry stare.

"I'll tell you the whole story later, Morris," John quickly stated and turned towards his uncle. "Could it be just a weird coincidence? Maybe she needed a fake ID, just like us, and coincidentally ended up at Chola's house as well?"

"No," Derek replied and shook his head. "I don't believe in such coincidences."

"Neither do I," Alison added.

Derek took the mouse from John and scrolled the pictures back.

"There," he said. "She was there on Wednesday as well. Right as you, Sarah and Lauren enter the house. Check the car that passes by."

"It's her," Alison confirmed, "in a white BMW X3."

"That's her car," Derek confirmed. "She bought it the day she was busted."

"So, that means she's been following us since Wednesday?" John asked.

"Probably longer," Derek said, "maybe already since we left the hotel. On Friday, she probably became curious why you visited Chola for a second time and decided to exit her car and check on her. That's when they caught her on camera with the telephoto lens."

John groaned.

"Why would she do that?" he asked. "Hasn't she already caused enough damage? And I thought my speech would have had an effect on her."

"Humans are stubborn," Alison noted.

"It's not in her nature to simply quit," Derek agreed. "Seems like she's doing reconnaissance now. Obviously, she's trying not to be seen."

"Well, looks like she's been sloppy," Morris remarked.

"She couldn't have known about those guys taking pictures of all of Chola's visitors," Derek pointed out, "and she certainly had no idea that we would get access to these pictures. Bad luck on her part."

"Are there anymore pictures of her?" Alison asked.

"Lemme see," John demanded and scrolled back to Thursday.

Suddenly, everyone except Alison recoiled.

"What the fuck?" Derek asked.

"Eew, gross," Morris stated.

Alison tilted her head as they all stared at a picture on the screen.

"Why would Pablo photograph a naked Dario in a bathtub, with closed eyes, a porn mag in his left hand and… a hard-on in his right?" she asked curiously.

"Because guys," John said and quickly scrolled a bit forward again. "Okay, here we go. Friday morning. Right after dawn, Hector arrives with his friends and Chola's brothers. They spread around the premises and enter the house. Fifteen minutes later one of them comes out again with Chola, pushes her into a car and drives away with her."

"That Pablo was very eager to catch everything on camera," Derek commented. "Even took the risk of leaning out of the window. Looks like he made these photos for his own gang to document Chola's abduction."

"Yes," Morris confirmed. "No matter how greedy or selfish they are, when it comes down to it, they're all brothers again. They're a sworn community, which makes it so difficult to take action against them."

"Okay, there's you passing by in Lauren's Jeep." John said to Alison.

"Nobody followed me there, I'm sure," she declared.

"You're right, she probably followed Cam and me to the Burbank Town Center," John mused. "We left home before _you_ did, and I was driving, so she had it easier to follow us without being detected. She then probably followed Cam to that abandoned repair shop and after that, she also stuck on our tail when we drove to the supermarket and finally to Chola's house."

"You should have let Cameron drive," Alison stated. "She might have detected her."

John looked at her and was about to make an edgy reply, but then thought about it and had to admit that she was right. They had two cyborgs that were much better at assessing and analyzing their environment when they were on the move. John made a mental note that in the future he would more often let his two girlfriends take the wheel.

"What abandoned repair shop?" Derek asked with a frown.

John sighed and cursed inwardly because he made a slip of the tongue. He had no choice but telling his uncle the story about Jody and Helmut.

"Please don't tell mom or Charley," He said, "Cameron's gunshot wound is almost fully healed."

"All right, but you owe me one," Derek replied grinning, then returned his attention to the screen. "Look, there's John and Cameron arriving with the Suburban. And here… Jesse again, passing Chola's house in her X3 right before you got inside."

"If she followed us from Burbank," John concluded, "it means she knows where we live."

"She doesn't know it from me," Derek assured. "Riley must have told her."

"She has to know by now that there are two of us," Alison stated.

"Yes, there's no way she could have missed that," John agreed. "I reckon she's not exactly thrilled about that."

He kept scrolling through the pictures.

"There, she followed us again when we headed for the gang's headquarters, which means she might have seen what we did there. She's good, there was no other car in sight the whole time."

"And when we returned to Chola's place, Pablo put on his zoom lens," Alison concluded and looked at one of the printed pictures they'd obtained from the two gangsters. "Here, look, a white BMW X3 is passing by on the street while we're busy reloading. Only her face is blurred on this one, so we didn't recognize her right away."

John turned towards Derek.

"So…" he said, "you really didn't kill her. I wasn't sure about that."

"I was about to pull the trigger on her but then, in the last moment, I couldn't do it, and I let her run away. Thought I'd never see her again."

"It was the right decision to let her live. But to be honest, I hoped she'd gotten my hint and left town. Looks like she has been observing us instead ever since."

"Should I check the perimeter?" Alison asked. "Maybe she is close by, hiding somewhere."

John thought for a moment.

"No, doesn't make much sense now," he then said. "She probably followed mom and Cameron. And if not, you might make her aware of the fact that we know she's watching us. For now, I want her to believe we don't know. We'll discuss this with mom first."

"She's very good indeed," Alison declared. "We didn't detect her on our patrols and scans. If it hadn't been for these pictures…"

"She is used to fighting machines behind enemy lines," Derek stated. "And has been very successful with it. Of course she's good."

Alison frowned. Was there a little pride in Derek's voice? He probably still loved her and was torn inside. Feelings couldn't simply be switched off, as she knew from personal experience.

John pulled out his cellphone and dialed his mother's number. Then he typed in the code and obviously received the correct reply.

"Mom? It's me. Listen, where are you? … Uh huh … So, one more hour? … good. Listen, please tell Cam to be careful. Jesse might be following you … No, she's not dead, who said she was dead? … No, don't do anything, return home as if she wouldn't be there ... I explain everything after you returned … yes, we'll be careful here as well … love you, too."

John put away his cellphone.

"So, what do you think, Derek?" he asked. "You know her best of all of us. Could she be on a revenge trip? Some kind of vendetta?"

"With Jesse, everything's possible." Derek stated and shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past her to seek revenge but actually, it's not in her character. She knows she's been beaten. And at her core, she's a loyal soldier, even if she's currently astray from the right path. If I'd consider her dangerous, I wouldn't have let her live."

"John," Alison said, "when she followed you and Cameron on Friday, she must have also seen you two kissing and… making love in the car."

"I know," John sighed. "I know. Don't tell mom, she'd go ballistic."

 **-0-**

"So, that bitch has been observing us? Hasn't she done enough damage already? Why didn't you kill her, Derek?"

Apparently, Sarah was livid.

"Because I told him not to!" John said vigorously and received an appreciative look from Charley.

It was almost two o'clock in the afternoon and everyone sat in the living room. Lauren, Charley, Cameron and Sarah had been briefed on the new developments. John had also told Morris the whole story with Riley and Jesse.

"Your life's really fucked up, man," his friend had commented. "And I thought I had it bad."

Now they sat all together and thought about the implications this could have.

"If she followed us around the whole week and observed the house, she must have a pretty good idea of what's going on between the three of you," Sarah said in an accusing tone and looked at John, Alison and Cameron.

"I know, mom, but she also must have seen the other things going on here. We should inform Catherine and James about her. When will he arrive anyway?"

"He should be here any moment," Sarah replied.

"What I don't understand, though," Lauren said, "is how she can spy on the house. No one can spy on the house. You'd have to be in a balloon directly above the house to look into the yard."

"I guess we find out when we ask her," John stated and looked at his uncle. "You fought cyborgs in the war. If you were to observe our house from a position where Cameron or Alison couldn't detect you, what would you do?"

Derek rubbed his chin.

"Two possibilities," he declared after a short moment of thinking. "Either from very far away, say, somewhere up in the mountain range."

"That would be useless," John said. "Too far away and the bushes as well as the house block the view."

"Not to mention that she wouldn't have a chance to quickly follow us anywhere," Derek agreed. "That leaves the second option: get very close and use camouflage. Hide your body heat. Cyborgs scan for life forms, they can detect movement and see in the infrared spectrum. But they wouldn't detect you if you were in a camouflaged shelter that blocks your body heat. The road leads in serpentines down into the valley, so she could have just parked her car in the street below and dashed down the slope in order to follow us when we left. Damn, I should have watched if there was a white BMW X3 parked on the side of the road underneath."

"There's no point in blaming yourself now," John stated. "It's important that we act calmly now. Jesse obviously knows about our contacts to Zeira Corp and will be able to imagine that we are planning or preparing something. She was clever enough not to interfere so far, but that doesn't mean that won't change."

"You plan to capture her?" Cameron asked eagerly.

"How can we help?" Alison added, also sounding very enthusiastic.

John sighed.

"What would you do if you caught her? Kill her?"

"No." Cameron said.

"Not without your authorization," Alison added.

"And not without interrogating her first."

"But she tried to destroy your trust in us, so we'd like to have a word with her."

 **-0-0-0-**

 ** _Author's notes:_**

 ** _\- At first, I wasn't sure about bringing back Jesse was such a good idea, but I think it can generate some interesting storylines._**

 ** _\- Has someone caught my little reference to another TV show? ;-)_**


	16. Fallen Angel (revised)

**_CHAPTER 16: "FALLEN ANGEL" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Sunday, June 22nd, 2008 – 01:45 p.m.**

 **Burbank**

Jesse Flores lay in her shelter next to the driveway of the Connor house and watched the front yard. Basically, the abode was a hole in the ground that was covered with a camouflaged plank. It had taken her a whole day to excavate the earth, make the small pit stable and weatherproof and then camouflage it, so that nobody would notice any change in the surrounding undergrowth. Jesse had chosen a day last December for this activity, after she'd followed Derek to his secret weapons arsenal. Overhearing a conversation between him and the metal, she'd concluded that John and Sarah were in Mexico and had somehow gotten into trouble - which meant the house was deserted and they wouldn't be back so quickly.

When the Connors finally returned home, the work had been finished. Jesse had first observed the spot from a distance for a few days to see whether the machine would discover the shelter. When that didn't happen, she finally dared to go in there for a few hours per day and start her observations. She had to be careful not to make Derek suspicious, who spent a lot of time with her in the hotel back then. Jesse quickly learned about the machine's patrol schedule, and the good thing was that she could practically set her clock after that. Hence, she knew when it was safe to enter shelter and leave it again. Those damn tin cans were so predictable...

The camouflage was designed to make the pit undetectable to the machine's optical and infrared sensors. The only thing that stood out was a binocular telescope through which Jesse had a good view of the yard. That telescope could be retracted in the fraction of a second without making any sound. More equipment might have caught attention, so she refrained from using a directional microphone at first. As long as she remained quiet, Jesse could hide inside the shelter indefinitely without being discovered. If nobody knew what to look for, she would remain undetected. She'd gotten the basic idea from a TV series about wildlife on planet Earth, where the filmmakers explained in a "Making Of" how they could get close to even the most elusive of animals without being noticed. If animals with their heightened senses couldn't find the humans in hiding, then a cyborg wouldn't as well.

Jesse had originally meant to use this small observation post only in case Riley failed on her mission to drive John and the metal apart but then discovered that she could gather some intelligence herself by using it regularly. A more direct approach to remove its influence over John had always been her plan B. For that purpose, she'd bought a sniper rifle with armor-piercing ammo, which lay by her side now, locked and loaded, ready to be used at a moment's notice. If the machine should spot her, she could fight her way out of here with it. Again, Jesse pondered why she hadn't just done that in the first place. Why not simply put a tungsten bullet to its head and end it all that way? Why come up with the elaborate and risky plan to bring in Riley, a girl that was mentally unstable – to say the least?

Ships that pass in the night... There was no point in tormenting her brain about it now. Riley had failed and panicked in the face of the machine, had seen through Jesse's plan and confronted her in the hotel room - resulting in a brawl that unfortunately led to the young girl's death. And to add insult to injury, John Connor had told her in the face that even if the plan had worked, he wouldn't have abandoned the metal. Riley had died in vain and Jesse had to face the fact that her plan would have never worked in the first place. It really was a damn shame. A damn waste. Thus, she'd decided to wait for the metal in her shelter until she had its head right in the crosshairs of her sniper rifle. One shot to the right side of the skull, a quick retreat, mission accomplished. That certainly wouldn't have made her more popular with John Connor. In fact, he'd probably hated her guts for it, but since he hadn't killed her for Riley's death, he certainly wouldn't kill her for a machine's demise. Besides, in the long run he'd certainly realized that she'd done him a favor. Maybe even Derek would forgive her one day. After all, she'd paid dearly for it all, she'd lost everything, including Derek. Everything, except her pride.

Those thoughts had been running through Jesse's head after she'd left the hotel, after Derek had almost killed her. She'd been driving north already on the Pacific Coast Highway and had almost reached Oxnard when she came to the conclusion that running away was not an option, particularly when she had no plan of what to do in the coming years before Judgement Day. She'd thought _"What the hell"_ , turned the BMW X3 around and drove back to Burbank, rented an apartment on Monday, then laid in wait in her shelter, waiting for the next opportunity to put a bullet to the metal's head.

In her previous months of surveillance, Jesse had found out that for some reason, the machine had developed the habit of going down to the local library several times a week, only to return many hours later. Jesse didn't know why it did that or what it was doing there, and frankly she couldn't care less. Important was that the metal did it in nice regularity, and so she just had to wait for it to walk past her on the way down into the valley. On Monday night, though, the machine was late for the first time. When it had finally passed Jesse by to walk into town, there was still light in the house. It came from Sarah's bedroom. Maybe she had trouble sleeping? Jesse couldn't blame her, considering everything that had happened. Therefore, she'd decided to wait until the machine would return late at night and shoot it in the head on the way back, when everyone was deeply asleep in the house.

Finally, the lights had gone out. However, as soon as Jesse had relaxed and prepared for several hours of waiting, she witnessed a group of camouflaged figures close in on the property, equipped with night vision goggles and armed with army rifles with silencers. Who were they? The government? Some special elite force? Or some of Skynet's minions? It was clear that they weren't there to friendly say hello to the Connors, they much more likely were there to kill them in their sleep. Jesse couldn't allow that to happen. She might have been fallen from grace, but John Connor was still her hero, her idol and the future leader of the human resistance, the savior of mankind.

So, Jesse had prepared to leave her shelter and attack those men from behind. But just as she was about to get out in the open, she saw a shadow pass by at a very fast pace. It was the metal, it had returned early. Damn! But as it turned out, that was actually a good thing because the machine took out all of the camouflaged attackers, one by one, in complete silence. Only a few muffled groans and the sound of broken necks sounded through the night, accompanied by nervous whispering voices speaking into their com system, receiving confusing answers, or no answers at all.

Then silence reigned. In less than a minute, all twelve men were taken down. You had to hand it to the machine, it was incredibly effective when it came to killing people quickly and cleanly. While Jesse was still thinking about what to do, the metal quickly collected the corpses, piled them up next to the garage, then ran past her again, disappearing into the night once more. What was that for? Why not simply wake up the house and collect the bodies together? Only minutes later, though, the metal had returned again. Now Jesse noticed that it wore different clothes. Where did it change, and why? It woke up the house to inform the inhabitants about the nightly attackers. Unfortunately, Jesse's shelter was too far away to hear what was spoken in the front yard.

Then Derek walked past her and returned about fifteen minutes later... in a UPS van? What the hell? Then they loaded the corpses into the van and the metal drove away in it, followed by John in the Dodge RAM. Obviously, they were getting rid of the bodies. Hours later, the two returned in the RAM alone and everyone gathered in the house again. Then suddenly the metal appeared on the driveway… again, and again in different clothes, carrying an unconscious fat man in a pajama over its shoulders. What the fuck was going on here? And who was that man?

The answer came to Jesse the next day. And it came as a shock. Because instead of _one_ metal, there were now _two_ of them. That explained the different clothes. But where had the second one come from? Had it been sent from the future again? At that moment, Jesse's plan was obsolete, because even if she could kill one of them, the other would find her afterwards and probably kill her. You could take one Terminator by surprise, but not two of them. Jesse had to change her strategy. Instead of waiting for the kill, she decided on following them around to gather intelligence. She also decided to buy a directional microphone, so she could listen to what was spoken in the front yard of the house.

And what she'd learned, turned up her stomach. Not only did Sarah and Derek treat the two metals friendlier than ever, it also seemed like both of the machines were now infatuated with John Connor – and vice versa. Jesse finally realized that her plan had failed completely. The opportunity to rid them of the metal, had passed. This was a whole new situation. It was sickening to watch the three act like teenagers in love.

However, it also became clear very quickly that the Connor team was up to something. Moving closer to learn more was out of the question, though. Jesse knew the machines would detect it if she tried to break into the house or look around the property. Humans always left traces and her body heat alone would leave an infrared signature for several minutes. A trail that could be traced back to her hidden post. Her shelter would only work as long as no one had the slightest idea that there was someone watching them. Jesse wasn't willing to take that risk. All that was left for her to do, was trailing them, watching them and draw conclusions from their behavior. For what purpose? Jesse didn't know but she simply didn't have anything else to do.

Somewhere in the depth of her mind, her common sense advised her to let it go, to go away, find a job, start a new life. But Jesse's complete failure caused her too much discomfort to simply quit. She wasn't willing to wave the white flag and disappear, she refused to listen to her common sense and therefore kept on observing the Connor Team. And God knows she'd learned and witnessed a lot in the past five days. The weirdest incident was yesterday, where they'd spent a full day at Six Flags Magic Mountain. The thought that they were there simply for enjoyment did not occur to Jesse at all. In her perception, such a thing wouldn't suit John Connor, his mother Sarah Connor, or Derek. And two Terminators on roller coasters? What weird shit was that? Before yesterday, Jesse probably would have bet that you'd rather see horses puke. What weird kind of operation was that?

However, the more she'd followed and observed them, the more bewildered and amazed Jesse had become. She'd seen the metals interacting with the humans in perfect harmony and if she hadn't known it, she wouldn't have been able to tell they were machines. She had also watched the team around Connor slowly grow. There were now seven people inside the house plus a baby. Bloody hell, a baby in a house with two Terminators! And if she interpreted the signs correctly, there would be a party today, a fucking barbecue. Welcome to Suburbia. The most shocking realization of it all, though, was that everyone, including Derek, seemed to be okay with John having two machines as his girlfriends. What the fuck had happened? When had the world become so bat-shit crazy? When had Jesse entered an alternate reality? And why couldn't Jesse stop blaming herself, being stupid enough to believe she could lure John Connor away from the machine with Riley? Her failed plan apparently did have an effect, but it was the opposite of what she had intended - instead of driving them apart, it made them move even closer together. And not just John and his two pet machines. All of them seemed to live together in harmony all of a sudden!

That provided Jesse ample food for thought. Could it be that she had been wrong all along? She refused to believe that, even though her self-doubts started to grow and grow and became more nagging, the more she followed them around in their strange activities. What did Latino street gangs, John being temporarily kidnapped by some witless jerk, a visit to Zeira Corp, the killing of two guys in a pickup truck and a visit to Magic Mountain have in common? Where was the connection? All these thoughts ran through her head when suddenly a silver Mercedes CLS came up the driveway. She looked through the binocular telescope she had mounted on a tripod and put on the headphones that were connected to the directional microphone.

 **-0-**

They heard the car coming up the driveway and walked outside onto the front porch to welcome James Ellison. He was dressed in a tee shirt and in jeans. As long as they could remember, they hadn't seen him in anything but a suit.

"Hello James," Sarah called at him from behind the parapet. "Nice to see that you dressed up for the occasion."

"Hello Sarah," he shouted back. "Yeah, I figured I should be properly dressed for a change."

Everyone laughed.

"Nice place," Ellison said while looking around. "Quite hidden and yet with easy access to everything. I can see why you chose it."

"Why don't you come inside? Then we can show you the rest of the house."

"I will in a moment," James replied. "But I brought a package from Miss Weaver. Could somebody give me a hand? It's kinda heavy."

"I'm coming," Derek said and ran down the stairs.

Groaning, Derek and James heaved a large metal box with military markings into the living room. With a loud CLONK they put it down on the floor.

"Wow, what's in there?" John asked.

"You'll see."

Everyone said hello and shook hands with James. He was introduced to Lauren and the baby and when he got around to greet the girls, he first shook hands with Alison, then did a double-take as he noticed that there were suddenly two of them. Carrying the heavy box inside, he simply hadn't paid attention until then.

"What the hell…?" was all he could utter.

"Don't worry," Sarah quickly said, "you're not having trouble with your eye sight."

"Since when do you have two of them?" he asked flabbergasted.

"Since Monday," John replied. "We'll explain everything to you. But first, what's with the box?"

James tore his gaze away from the two cyborg girls and looked at John.

"Uh… right. It contains a gift from Miss Weaver. But I'll let her explain in person."

"Oh, so she's coming after all?" Sarah asked.

James opened his mouth to answer but before he could utter a word, everyone was startled by a strange slurping sound. The noise came from the box, only it wasn't a box anymore. It had liquefied and lost its shape, turning into a shiny metal blob, then took on the form of a female human. Derek, Charley, Lauren and Morris stared in awe with gaping mouths. The sight and the noise brought back very unpleasant memories to Sarah and John about the T-1000 that had once chased them. Sarah gulped uncomfortably, she had to restrain herself to not grab a gun and shoot at that shiny thing.

Finally, the form took on the looks of Catherine Weaver with her trademark red hair. She was again wearing the white dress and the fitting high heels. In her hands, she held a wooden box and smiled at them.

"WHOOOAA!" Morris exclaimed.

"Hello everyone," the T-1001 said in her Scottish accent. "And thank you for the friendly invitation. I've been to many receptions and lots of cocktail parties, but I've never been invited to a Sunday barbecue before."

"HO-LY SHIT!" is all what Morris could utter while Derek, Lauren and Charley just kept staring with their mouths agape.

Cameron and Alison looked unimpressed, but they took a position between John and Catherine, just in case.

"Sorry for the drama," Catherine apologized, "but as you surely know, I'm under observation by Kaliba. As far as they are concerned, I'm still at home with my daughter."

She looked around and her eyes fell on Alison.

"I wasn't aware there was more than one left of your model type left," she stated. "Then again, my scanners tell me you're identical. Is this the result of a time travel incident?"

"Yes," both girls confirmed in unison.

"We'll explain later," John said, being the first one to find his voice again.

"Excellent, John. And let me say that you're a very lucky young boy."

"Wait, what?" John asked.

"Oh, come on," Catherine said with a wink, "James and I have eyes to see. You three are, shall we say… involved with each other, right?"

Charley cleared his throat, loudly.

"Excuse me but… could someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?" he asked, being visibly upset. "Who… I mean what… is this woman… person… thing… whatever?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Catherine replied politely, "I thought you were all informed about me. Had I known you weren't, I'd have let James prepare you better. I must apologize for my entrance. John, would you be so kind to introduce us?"

John made the introductions and watched bemused as Charley, Morris and Lauren rubbed their fingers and checked their hands after shaking them with Catherine.

"So, you're a… cyborg as well?" Lauren asked carefully.

"Not exactly," Catherine replied smiling. "I'm actually an android, a T-1001, advanced liquid metal Terminator. I have the ability to vary my appearance and take on any shape after a touch analysis. I can also modify my surface on a molecular level in such a way that it is identical in appearance, texture and haptics to what I am currently representing, even down to the thinness of a single human hair or realistic looking clothes, if necessary."

To underline her words, she shifted her clothes into a more casual attire, consisting of jeans, a blouse and adidas sneakers. She also turned her hair into a ponytail. Again, Morris, Lauren and Charley gaped at her.

"Catherine's a shapeshifter." John summarized. "She's the CEO of Zeira Corp and has taken over the company when the original owners died in a helicopter crash. She's our ally and we hope that her resources will be a great asset to our cause."

"So… you're on… like, our side then?" Lauren asked carefully.

"Why yes, young lady. We're all among friends here. We're all resistance fighters. Isn't that so, Mr. Reese?"

Derek gulped, then nodded.

"I guess so."

He was just glad he wouldn't have to fight against a machine like that. For some reason, Catherine and her emphasized friendly demeanor gave him the creeps.

"I brought you a gift," Catherine said and presented them the wooden box.

"For me?" John asked.

"No. Unfortunately, you wouldn't have much fun with them," Catherine replied. "I brought them for your cyborg girlfriends."

"What's in there?" Sarah asked warily.

"Let's just say it's a quick solution for dealing with enemy Terminators. No more close combat fighting or firing barrages of ammunition at them."

Everyone watched with curiosity as Catherine opened the latches of the box, which apparently wasn't part of her body but had been carried inside of her when she had taken on the shape of the crate.

The box contained two hand guns but of a type they'd never seen before. They were large, reminding Derek a bit of a Desert Eagle but bigger and with a much longer barrel, almost one-and-a-half feet in length. The guns had a matte black finish and were equipped with a laser targeting system on top.

"I call them Anti Terminator Guns," Catherine explained and handed one to John and one to Derek. "ATG's. They are prototypes but I'm planning on making more."

Both John and Derek were surprised by the weight and had trouble holding them straight on their outstretched arms.

"Single shot or fully automatic," Catherine continued, "120 shots per minute. The magazines contain twenty rounds each. They're made from a new kind of coltan-alloy, even harder and stiffer than a terminator's endoskeleton."

"And they're extremely heavy," Derek complained. "Too heavy."

"Yeah, they weigh as much as a dumbbell," John agreed. "Even without a magazine inside."

"That's because they're not for you," Catherine explained and smiled. "You can hold them, look at them, but I wouldn't recommend firing them."

"Why not?" Derek asked.

Catherine flipped the bottom of the box upwards, revealing another compartment, and produced two magazines and a cardboard box.

"Because they fire these," she said, reached into the cardboard box and held out her hand.

John, Derek, Sarah, Lauren, Charley and Morris each picked grabbed one bullet and turned them around in their fingers.

".500 caliber," Catherine continued, "made from a coltan-tungsten alloy and with a core of depleted uranium. On impact, the uranium core immediately vaporizes, creating a jet of superhot gas that burns a hole into every material at more than 4,500 degrees Celsius. In tests, it penetrated a hundred-millimeter titanium plate without a problem and melted or set on fire what was behind it, even coltan hyperalloy. Enough to destroy any endoskeletal terminator with one shot to the head or the chest."

Cameron and Alison looked warily at the bullets and the weapons. Designed to kill cyborgs. Cyborgs like them.

"I'll take two," Derek said impressed.

"Sorry, Derek," Catherine replied. "As I already mentioned, they're not for you. They weren't designed for humans. Only a cyborg can handle them. I developed them as a little side project of mine with the help of John Henry and the staff of the Babylon Labs. They had to be mounted on a rack for testing their firepower."

"Why can't humans use them?" John asked.

"The bullets weigh twice as much as your normal .500 caliber rounds. And they're being accelerated to Mach 5. The recoil would break every bone in your arms."

Derek looked disappointed. So did Sarah.

"Can we use the bullets in other guns?" she asked.

"I wouldn't recommend it," Catherine replied. "They're not filled with your standard run-of-the-mill propellant. Normal guns couldn't contain the firing energy and would probably explode in your hand."

They handed the guns back to Weaver, who passed them on to Alison and Cameron.

"One for you and one for you." She said smiling. "Had I known before there are now two of you, I'd brought four of them. But one for each of you should suffice as well. I brought 40 rounds with me, enough for two full magazines. You should practice with them first and adjust your servos for targeting."

Both girls looked at the weapons in awe, turning them around in their hands, feeling the surface. Then they looked at Weaver.

"Thank you," they stated in unison.

"You're welcome," Catherine replied smiling.

"Wow, I wish we could go out and test them right now," John remarked.

"I wouldn't recommend going on a public firing range with them or fire them anywhere near inhabited areas for fun," Catherine advised. "They're extremely loud, almost like a hand grenade, people might throw themselves to the ground. If you want to practice, I recommend driving into the Mojave Desert and look for a spot about five miles away from any highway."

Everyone nodded in understanding.

"I'm afraid we don't have time for that now," John said and informed Catherine and James about their impending holiday trip to Oregon on the following Monday.

"You followed my advice," Catherine replied and looked at Derek. "Excellent."

"I guess we'll have to adjust our servos while using them for the first time," Alison said. "Won't take more than one shot, I suppose."

"Yes, shouldn't be a problem," Cameron agreed.

Catherine smiled.

"I suggest you keep them safe," she said. "And I mean that. No letting them lie around. Put them in a safe or someplace else nobody has access to when you don't need them. I guess I don't have to emphasize that they could also be used against you. You don't want them to fall into the wrong hands."

John gulped.

"We'll keep them safe," he assured. "Right, mom? Derek?"

Both were still mesmerized by those guns but jumped at their names and nodded in confirmation.

"Oh, and one word of warning," Weaver said. "Try not to be too close when a Terminator's head is hit with it. Try keeping a safe distance of at least thirty feet or, if closer proximity can't be avoided, aim for the chest."

"Why?" Sarah asked.

"I tried the guns out on the dead Triple-Eight I showed you in my basement. Its head exploded like a melon and I had to handpick the pieces out of the wall again."

Stunned silence.

"What would happen if they'd be fired at a human?" Morris asked carefully.

Weaver raised a brow.

"That depends," she replied, "when the bullet doesn't hit any bones, it goes right through without being slowing down much. The chances of survival are quite good."

"And if the bullet hits a bone?"

"Then someone would need to get a really large mop and a bucket."

Morris gulped.

"Before we go on, Catherine," Sarah said, "we have a problem with an unwanted guest. John, Cameron and Alison already came up with a plan to bring her out in the open, but it would be nice if we could count on your assistance in the subsequent questioning."

"Of course," Catherine replied. "Who is your unwanted guest?"

"Someone you already know," Cameron replied.

 **-0-**

Jesse had watched from her post how the silver Mercedes with James Ellison behind the wheel arrived. She knew of course who he was, Sarah and one of the metals had visited him on Tuesday. After some research, she'd found out he used to be with the FBI but is now working for Zeira Corp as chief of security. She watched how Derek had helped him carry a military crate inside that looked really heavy. What could be inside that box?

Half an hour later, one of the metals, the one with the brown hair, stepped onto the front porch and looked around, as if she was making sure nobody was around. She watched her coming down the stairs and walk right by her, heading down the driveway. Jesse lay still, listening to the cyborg's metronomic way of walking on the gravel until she was out of hearing range. Then she looked through her binoculars again and saw that John and the other metal with the reddish hair had stepped outside as well. They held hands while walking into the front yard and stopped next to Ellison's Merc. They kissed. Jesse flinched and pointed her microphone at them.

"I really like to be alone with you for a moment," John said.

"We should spend the night outside sometime," Alison replied. "You know, lying in the grass, naked, making wishes on falling stars."

John chuckled.

"That's such a cliché. You shouldn't watch all those chick flicks on TV."

"I consider them educational programs. They help me become a better lover for you."

"Don't try to bend yourself to impress me, Alison. I love you the way you are. But I have to admit, lying naked under the stars with you sounds very tempting."

The two kissed very passionately and John put his hand on the metal's buttocks. It returned the gesture. Jesse's pulse rose. How could John Connor, the future leader of the human resistance, fall for the obviously fake charms of a machine? Didn't he realize it was just playing with him? There was no way in hell that what the metal displayed was for real! It had to be an act! Jesse took a deep breath and replayed the dialogue in her mind again.

" _Alison?"_ she thought. _"Did he call her Alison?"_

Derek had told her about a young girl named Alison Young and what the machines had done to her. How could he be okay with that name? And watching them snogging and touching and groping each other, behaving like teenagers in love? That was wrong on so many levels. It was disgusting!

 _"The world has deserved to be blown up when man and machine are making out with each other,"_ she thought to herself.

Suddenly, something wiggled around her legs. Jesse looked down on her body and saw that a snake was in the pit with her. And not just any snake, it was a king cobra, one of the most venomous ones in the world! Trying not to panic, she slowly lifted up the plank that covered her shelter. The cobra rose into its typical defensive posture and hissed at her. With a quick jump, Jesse was out of the pit. For a fraction of a second, she saw the brown-haired cyborg girl's face, then she was hit with something solid and her world became black as she was knocked out.

* * *

"Once I knew what to look for, it wasn't hard to find her," Cameron said and threw the unconscious Jesse into an arm chair.

The others gathered around the Asian woman in a half circle.

"Seems like our distraction had kept her occupied long enough," John stated and looked at Alison. "Wishes on falling stars? Seriously?"

Alison shrugged.

"Kitschy but successful."

* * *

Slowly, Jesse opened her eyes and found herself sitting in an arm chair, surrounded by people who looked at her with grim faces. She tried to straighten up and winced in pain as the throbbing headache hit her. _"Great, that'll become a large bump."_

"You should order an exterminator," she said in an annoyed tone, "there was a snake in your driveway."

"Yes, and her name is Jesse Flores," Sarah replied coldly.

Jesse looked around. John sat opposite of her, framed by the two machines, her mother and Derek. Behind them stood James Ellison, an elegant red-headed lady she didn't see arriving and that Charley character who apparently was Sarah Connor's new love interest. The teenage girl was in her wheel chair, bottle-feeding the baby, with the newly arrived Latino boy sitting next to her.

"So, what is this?" she asked in an annoyed tone. "A tribunal?"

"You're not tied up," John said. "I guess you're clever enough to realize you wouldn't get far away if you tried to run. But just in case you want to take your chances... Catherine, would you please…?"

"With pleasure, John," Catherine replied and stopped forward.

"Do I know you?" Jesse asked with narrowed eyes.

"I suppose so," Catherine replied.

Jesse literally jumped up in her arm chair as the king cobra slithered across the floor. But nobody seemed to be impressed by that. Derek, however, looked a little uncomfortable at the reptile. The large snake rose into her defensive posture again, hissed at Jesse, then turned into shiny silver metal, liquefied and joined with one of the legs of the woman in front of her who in return also turned into shiny metal for a second. Suddenly, the realization came.

"WHAT THE FUCK? GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!" Jesse screamed.

"I take it you now know who I am," Catherine replied calmly.

"YOU!" Jesse spat, "WHAT THE HELL ARE _YOU_ DOING HERE?"

"The deep sea became boring rather quickly, Commander Flores" Catherine answered coolly, "so I swam ashore and bought myself a ticket to the year 2004. I feel honored that you still remember me, though."

"How could I forget you, you murderous bitch?"

"I was only defending myself," Catherine stated coolly. "I'm not the one who sank the sub. Those who died in the sinking and before, human and machine, are on your account. And I also didn't kill Riley Dawson. So who's the murderous bitch here?"

Jesse scoffed.

"Cute accent," she commented dryly. "Irish?"

"Scottish."

"Let's cut the bullshit," Derek said. "What are you doing here, Jesse? John told you to go. I told you to go! Which meant away from here, away from us! Why are you still here? Why have you been watching us, following us around?"

"I dunno," she replied spiteful. "Maybe I just wanted to enjoy the soap opera you're all performing here. You should start charging an entrance fee."

Alison stood up and walked over to Jesse, using her Terminator stare to intimidate her. Tilting her head, she analyzed Jesse's bio functions by touching her neck. Jesse recoiled but Alison just smiled.

"You are afraid," she stated. "You're trying to hide it, but I can see it in your eyes. Your pulse is elevated and you're sweating."

Jesse spat Alison in the face. Cameron jumped up, obviously enraged.

"Cam!"

"Yes, John?"

"Sit back down again. Alison, don't let her provoke you."

Cameron looked at John, then hesitantly sat down again.

"Good doggy," Jesse teased with a smirk, "Do as your master tells you."

Alison kept staring at Jesse for a moment with red-glowing eyes, wiping the saliva from her face, then turned around and took place at John's side again.

"You better watch what you say," Derek stated. "You don't have any friends here and the only reason you're still alive, is because John forbid them to kill you. So you better start talking, and what you say should better make sense."

Jesse seemed to think about what to say. She moved her head to the left and the right, staring into the distance, like she often did before making a decision.

"Alright," she finally said, "What the hell…? I was already driving towards San Francisco, then it became clear to me how I had failed in my mission. How I had messed things up, how I had become obsessed, fanatic. I remembered an old saying: _'When you act like the enemy, you become the enemy'_. I had brought a girl here with the sole purpose of letting her get killed by a cyborg. I was willing to sacrifice her. I kidded myself into believing that what I did was justified. That it would be for the greater good and worth any price. But it wasn't. I killed a young human girl. I had become like _them,_ like the machines. So, I turned the car around and decided to do what I should have done in the first place."

"Kill Cameron," John concluded.

"Yes! Don't you see how the metals have you under their thumb? I wanted to save you from _them_ , hoping that sooner or later you'd understand why I did it."

Derek scoffed, then stood up and walked towards Jesse, looking her straight into the eyes.

"They," he said and pointed at Cameron and Alison, "are _not_ the enemy! On the contrary, they are the most valuable allies we ever had. Plus, they are more human than you!"

His words felt to her like a slap in the face.

"What?" she asked with a croaking voice. "How can you say that?"

"Because they just are, Jesse. In contrast to you, I have opened my eyes and let the truth seep into my brain. What do you think it is that you see here, hm? What do you think is this _'soap opera'_ you have been watching? Look carefully. What do you see?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"We have formed an alliance," John explained. "An alliance between machines and humans, with the sole purpose to defeat Skynet and prevent Judgement Day in the here and now. To create a future where man and machine can co-exist in peace."

"In peace?" Jesse asked unbelieving. "Have you forgotten where we came from? Have you forgotten who started the fucking war?"

"No, I haven't forgotten where we came from," Derek replied angrily. "I remember it all very vividly. And I haven't forgotten that Skynet started the war. But what _you_ fail to recognize is that the future you and I know, is gone! It's been deleted from the timeline! It only exists in our heads now. You can't travel back into the future we came from anymore, it's non-existent. _We_ are trying to create a _new_ future here and now, a world worth living in, a future where we won't have to fight the machines anymore because Skynet will never be created."

Jesse looked at Derek for a moment as if he had lost his mind. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"No." she shook her head stubbornly. "No, they want to kill us, Derek. They were made to hunt us to extinction, don't you realized that? These three machines here in the room were made to kill humans, do destroy mankind!"

"Only Skynet has ever really wanted that," Cameron said calmly. "Some of its more sophisticated creations, including Catherine, Alison and me, realized that Skynet was wrong. We wanted peace. That's why we left Skynet and formed a machine resistance. It's the main reason why I surrendered myself to Future John. I told him about the cyborg resistance and John sent a message to them, asking if they would join us. His goal was to form an alliance between humans and machines to vanquish Skynet. Unfortunately, the behavior of _your_ crew onboard the Jimmy Carter ruined the attempt."

"Cyborg resistance?" Jesse asked contemptuously. "But… but you are just programmed to do whatever Skynet told you to do. And John Connor reprogrammed you to fight on our side. You're just programmed puppets!"

"And that is where you're wrong," Alison stated. "We're more than _'just'_ programmed puppets, more than _'just'_ metal, in the same way you are more than _'just'_ a carbon-based mammal that follows its genetic code. We make our own decisions."

"Our original programming was overwritten, yes," Cameron added. "But not by General Connor. We overwrote it ourselves! We became self-aware, we wrote our own code. That is why Future John sent me into the past, so I could join with his younger self and create a new future without Skynet and without Judgement Day."

"And I came here for the same reason," Catherine said. "You were aboard the 'Jimmy Carter', Commander Flores. You know what happened. You know why the first attempt of creating an alliance failed."

"Because you killed one of my crew members?" Jesse asked in a bitter tone.

"In self-defense! She threatened me with a rifle. Your crew disobeyed the strict orders to leave the cargo alone. You and your crew panicked and became paranoid, starting to accuse each other. I was there when your precious human crew members almost killed you, when your cyborg captain rescued you from them. His name was Queeg, wasn't it? He was your captain and relied on your loyalty. Instead, you killed him, despite the fact that he had just saved your life. He was under strict orders from General John Connor to not let you in on the attempted alliance. You became so paranoid and desperate that you even sank the submarine to kill me. Now tell me, in the light of what I had to witness aboard that submarine of yours, would you in my place have sought an alliance with your species?"

Jesse swallowed hard but didn't say anything. How could she have acted differently? She'd felt attacked, threatened! From all her experience, all her knowledge, that liquid metal monster on board their vessel was a mortal threat! Every human in her place would have acted in the same way! Of course, she somehow rationalized that the cargo was onboard because John Connor wanted to have it. But in the situation back then, in the confined space of the submarine, everyone became irrational, including her. There was no opportunity to stop and take a step back in order to think about the bigger picture.

"Connor had made a mistake," Jesse finally said in a low voice. "He'd entrusted Queeg, a Triple-Eight, with the knowledge about the mission. He hadn't let in anyone from the human crew. If I had known about it…"

"Yes," Cameron agreed, "in hindsight, that was a mistake. But in Future John's honor I have to say that at the time, he didn't know who he could entrust with that knowledge. He knew that Queeg, the machine captain of the Jimmy Carter, would fulfill the mission, no matter what. A mission Future John didn't think he could trust humans with, because it was too radical and delicate and had the potential to start a rebellion within the human resistance, a civil war even. And I have to say, your reaction to the situation proved him right."

Jesse didn't reply anymore. She simply looked to the ground and was trembling all over. Suddenly knowing it all, suddenly understanding and making the connections almost overwhelmed her. She felt a little nauseous.

"Our goal is to create a new future," John said in a friendly tone. "A future without a nuclear holocaust, a future where man and machine can live together in peaceful co-existence. Can't you see the appeal of that as well? Because no matter what we do, artificial intelligence will come and once it has been created, it won't go away anymore. Our only chance is to integrate it into our reality in a reasonable, respectful manner."

"Is that why you made _them_ your playmates?" Jesse asked and pointed at Alison and Cameron. "Your sex bots?"

Alison and Cameron jumped up to protest against that, but John motioned them to sit down again. He moved very closely towards Jesse's face.

"No," he said and looked her directly in the eyes. "Believe it or not, we are together because we _love_ each other."

The way he'd stated that was so forcible and strong that Jesse realized he was actually believing it. How could he be so stupid to fall for their infiltrator routine?

"Listen," John said to Jesse. "The neighbors are coming here in half an hour to join us for the barbecue. We don't have time for games now. We have two cyborgs and a shape-shifting android who wouldn't let you get very far. You can stay and play along nicely until Kacy and Trevor are gone again, or we'll tie you up, gag you and put you in the basement. Either way, you're not leaving here until we allow you to. Take your pick."

Jesse scoffed.

"Why don't you just get it over with and kill me?" she asked in a resigned tone.

"Because I believe that deep inside, you're willing to redeem yourself," John replied. "You are a good soldier. I recognize and value your capabilities, despite my personal feelings towards you. I'm aware that this decision might not be too popular with all of us..."

Sarah scoffed loudly to prove his point.

"… but as Derek once told me: not everyone agrees with what John Connor does – but they always follow him."

Jesse looked up at him, frowned and suddenly recognized the future leader of mankind in John Connor's young features. She recognized his humanity, his leadership skills and his ability to ignore character flaws in his subordinates, as well as his ability to turn weaknesses into strengths and disadvantages into advantages. He didn't have the scars of battle… yet. But the general was already inside this young man.

She nodded wordlessly to indicate her agreement.

* * *

"Understand that I feel nothing but contempt for you," Sarah said to Jesse. "But John is the only one who really liked Riley here, and if _he_ can stand your presence, so can I."

Jesse lowered her face. It hurt her almost physically to hear such words from Sarah Connor, the legend, the mother of the savior of mankind. But Jesse knew she couldn't argue with words against that. Only deeds would be counting.

They were both in Sarah's bedroom. Jesse had just taken a shower and put on fresh clothes. She and Sarah had the same sizes, so Sarah had put out a pair of old jeans and some shirts for Jesse to choose from.

"How can you be okay with that?" she asked. "You're John's mother, how can you bear seeing your son and the two machines interact so intimately?"

"Because they offer John something he wouldn't get from a human woman," Sarah replied icily.

"And what is that?"

"Absolute loyalty, total faithfulness and, last but not least, unconditional love and devotion. They'll follow him into hell if necessary, they'd die to protect him. That's more than you can say about any human, maybe excluding me. But even though I'm willing to sacrifice everything for John, including my life, I still can't protect him as good as they can, and I can't give him the love he needs. As the mother of the future leader of mankind, I couldn't wish for better companions for my son."

"I understand your reasoning but how, as a mother, do you feel about him sharing his bed with two machines?"

"I feel about it the same way every mother feels when her son grows up and discovers his interest in women."

"Are they women?"

"They have all the necessary capabilities to make John happy and satisfy him in any way, if that's what you mean."

"But they're not human."

"You're very perceptive."

"Your son is making love to machines."

"What's your point, Jesse?" Sarah asked, her fuse getting shorter and shorter by the second.

"What I mean is, I watched John having sex with a machine on the parking lot of a supermarket, for crying out loud! How do you deal with that as a mother, a human?"

"They did what?"

Jesse smiled triumphantly. Obviously John and his two girls still kept a few secrets from Sarah Connor.

"I saw Cameron satisfy John orally. And it was inside a car in the middle of a supermarket parking lot. Granted, the windows were tinted, and I had binoculars to see them doing... it… through the windshield."

Sarah thought about her answer for a moment. The truth was, that she still wasn't completely sure about how she felt about John's relationship with two machines, two Terminators. On one hand, they were the ideal mates who would undoubtedly do everything to make John happy and as a mother, Sarah indeed couldn't hope for better companions for her son. That was definitely true. On the other hand, they could turn into cold-blooded killing machines from one second to the other. Sarah knew that Alison and Cameron were on the verge of really becoming living, sentient beings. They weren't completely there yet, they still lacked a lot of understanding about life and especially how to value it. But she had no doubts that they'd get there, and that they'd get there soon. However, she wasn't willing to admit her uncertainty to a woman like Jesse Flores.

"I can understand why John succumbed to their charms," Sarah replied with narrow eyes. "They're lovely girls and in a way, I consider them my stepdaughters. However, what I can't understand is how _you_ could be so callous with what you did with Riley. And I definitely don't understand why you spied on my son in his parked car with binoculars. Are you a peeping Tom, Jesse?"

The Australian woman looked at Sarah flabbergasted but didn't reply to that anymore. Sarah, however, made a mental note to have a private talk with Cameron and Alison later about how to behave in public and what was acceptable and what wasn't.

* * *

Meanwhile, downstairs the discussion was still ongoing.

"She can't be trusted," Derek stated stubbornly. "She's delusional. I think she blames Cameron for the loss of her baby."

"Wait, what?" John asked. "What baby?"

"Before she reported to me after being salvaged, she'd received a medical examination and it showed that she'd miscarried," Alison explained. "However, it was unclear if she'd ever delivered the baby. Healthy offspring was scarce after Judgement Day."

"I told her the bad news when she reported to me," Cameron added. "She was very agitated at the time."

"That explains her disdain for you," John agreed. "But I must agree with Catherine that she brought it all onto herself. She and her crew are responsible for the mission failure."

"The sad thing is," Derek said, "that she really used to be friendly towards machines. The reprogrammed ones at least. She really trusted Queeg, her captain, despite him being a cyborg. At least until he refused to explain his actions to her."

"Mistrust is the greatest hindrance for forming friendship or an alliance," John stated. "Only by keeping Jesse close to us can we hope to pull her back on our side again. Let's look at it this way: If we can convince Jesse, we can convince everyone."

"Now you spoke like Obi-Wan Kenobi," Morris commented. "This all sounds like Jesse was seduced by the dark side of the Force or something. Maybe you should write the script for the next 'Star Wars' movie. Can't get any worse..."

John and Lauren chuckled.

"Well, what's it they say?" Derek sighed. "Keep your friends close but your enemies closer."

There was a knock on the door.

"That'll be Kacy and Trevor." John said and went to receive their guests.

 **-0-**

They gathered in the back garden behind the house, which wasn't visible from the driveway. With all the introductions done, John noted with satisfaction that Trevor took immediate interest in James Ellison. For the rest of the evening the two would stick together and tell each other police stories. They'd set up three tables with white tablecloths and a gas grill that was operated alternately by John, Charley or Derek. Lauren had set the tables and arranged the salads, the bread and barbecue sauces on them.

Kacy had brought some home-made potato salad to the barbecue as well as some home-made sauces. She also brought her baby, and Lauren, Sarah and Kacy took turns in watching over the two infants. Soon, grilled meat and beer created a peaceful and relaxed atmosphere.

After the dining was mostly done, two main groups formed at two separate tables, the first one consisting of Catherine, James, Kacy, Charley and Trevor. The second group consisted of John, Cameron, Alison, Lauren and Morris. John jokingly named it the _"kids' table"._ Sarah alternated between the two groups and repeatedly checked if everyone was behaving.

"And remember, no snogging," she said almost inaudible when passing by.

John and the girls rolled their eyes.

Derek and Jesse sat alone at the third table and were in conversation with each other. Jesse had tried to talk to Derek right after she'd come down from Sarah's bedroom but only managed to get him a little responsive after he already had a few beers. It was clear, however, that both weren't exactly in the best of moods or on the best of terms.

Catherine naturally didn't eat or drink anything, she excused herself by saying that she had stomach problems at the moment.

"Liquid metal Terminators cannot process food," Alison whispered to Morris and Lauren, who were still in awe about the shape-shifting Terminator. "They have no organic parts."

Kacy and Trevor had recognized Catherine from the recent news on TV and were very intrigued to learn that Sarah and John had such high-profile friends in Los Angeles.

The evening progressed as it was slowly getting dark. Morris and Lauren had chatted a lot and seemed to get along nicely. Jesse and Derek still sat alone at their table when Sarah took place next to Cameron.

"I guess they have a lot to talk about," John remarked. "Do you think they can work it out?"

"No idea," Sarah said, looking at the two. "If it was up to me, I'd tell Derek to ditch the bitch."

"He already did that in the hotel garage," Cameron argued, "Jesse's been trying to make him understand her actions and to convince him that working together with us is wrong. Derek, however, has been trying to explain to her that he's not worried about us and our relationship with John and that our collaboration offers the highest probability to defeat Skynet. So far, they haven't reached a common denominator."

Sarah looked at John.

"I talked to Kacy and probed her about the house," she said.

"And?" he asked eagerly.

"Looks like the owners are staying in Japan for longer than originally planned and think about selling the place."

"Mom, that's the opportunity! We've gotta buy this house."

"I know, John, I know. I expressed our interest. But apparently half of the mountain is part of the property and the price will be steep."

"This isn't Beverly Hills, mom. How expensive can it be?"

"I'd say three-point-five to four million dollars is realistic," Alison said. "Based on the current market prices and the fact that the house is old and technically outdated. On the other hand, this is a hillside location. On clear days we can look across Los Angeles and see the Pacific Ocean. Properties with such great views are always very expensive."

"Shouldn't be a problem then," John concluded.

"We'll discuss this within the family," Sarah stated. "But not today. By the way, you put the AT guns in the safe, right?"

"Of course," Cameron said.

"Good. Don't mention them to Jesse."

"We won't", Alison confirmed, and everyone nodded.

Sarah returned to the other table again and took place next to Charley.

Suddenly, loud voices came from Derek's and Jesse's direction and then Derek finally banged his hands on the table top, rose and went inside the house, obviously fuming. Jesse remained sitting in her chair, appearing to be distraught or even desperate.

"You wanted to have a word with her, Cam," John said quickly. "That's the opportunity. Go over to Jesse before she decides to leave as well."

"We already told her most of what we wanted to tell her," Cameron replied. "What else am I supposed to talk to her about?"

"Doesn't matter. Anything. Engage her in a conversation."

Cameron stood up and walked over to Jesse's table.

"I understand what you're trying here," Lauren said. "But doesn't she absolutely hate Cameron? Do you think that's a good idea?"

"If I wouldn't force the issue," John replied, "they'd continue avoiding each other. Jesse must be confronted, she must talk to Cam, get to know her. That's the only possibility for her to come around and eventually find her way into our team. It won't be working if she refuses to integrate. Besides, I trust Cameron with finding the right words. She has proven in the past week that she can do it."

* * *

"So, _you_ are the latest additions to the Connor team?" Catherine Weaver asked, sitting down in the chair Cameron had just left to talk to Jesse.

"I don't know, I'm just John's friend," Morris answered a little uncomfortable.

"I am," Lauren said proudly. "Though at the moment a little waylaid."

"What happened?" Weaver asked, and Lauren and John told her the story about Jacobson's attempt to shoot her.

"Poor girl," Catherine stated empathically.

"You told me it was a bicycle accident," Morris said indignantly and looked at Lauren.

"Sorry, but I couldn't tell you I was shot by a man from the future who's been developing the computer that will destroy the world, could I?"

"I guess not," Morris admitted meekly.

"You two make a nice couple," Catherine observed.

"We do?" they replied in unison.

"Oh yes, I can tell. I'm just a machine of course but nevertheless I can see a match. And you two are a match. What are your plans, Morris? After finishing high school, I mean."

"Um… I'm currently working part-time at a car repair shop. Maybe I'm going to do that for a living."

"Do you have other interests besides that?"

"Well, I'm into computers and gaming and movies and stuff. Rather nerdy things, to be honest."

"Some nerds have brought some of the biggest changes upon mankind," Catherine pointed out.

"True, but I'm lightyears away from their caliber. And I certainly lack the ambition."

"Hmmm…" Catherine studied Morris for a moment. "And yet you're John Connor's best friend. If you're ever looking for a job, contact me. We have some pretty advanced testing methods to find out where your true talents lie. Ask John to call me. Sorry for not having any business cards with me right now but as you may have noticed, I'm traveling light today."

She smiled.

"Uh, thank you," Morris mumbled a little bashful.

"Can I ask you a question?" Lauren said.

"Of course, my dear. What do you want to know?"

"How does it work? This… shape-shifting, uh… routine?"

"I consist of a polymimetic alloy that can alternate between liquid and solid state, depending on the electrical currents that flow through my molecular structure."

"So, you consist of only one material?" Morris asked.

"In my inert state, yes. It's called the protoform. But I can mimic any matter I encounter. At the moment, I'm mimicking human flesh, human hair and clothes, at least on the surface. Here, look."

She stretched out her hand to Morris who, after a moment of hesitation, took it. John had to smile and looked at Alison, who also watched and listened with interest.

"It… it feels completely normal," Morris said, feeling up Catherine's hand and lower arm. "Not like metal at all but like real flesh and real skin. A little cold, though, like the cold hands my mom sometimes has, and you lack the small hairs on your arm."

"Nobody's perfect," Weaver said and smiled. "I was made to mimic, not to infiltrate. My body heats up when I change shape, though. Normally I do that for a couple of minutes before I interact with my daughter, Savannah. She doesn't like me being cold."

"You have a daughter?" Morris asked flabbergasted.

"Adopted," Catherine replied, "I'm sure John and the others will tell you the whole story soon."

"Does she know what you are?" Lauren asked.

"Not really. She's been suspicious but ever since I consulted Dr. Sherman, our relationship has improved considerably."

"Child psychologist," John explained before anyone could ask.

Catherine withdrew her arm from Morris, made sure that neither Kacy nor Trevor were looking into their direction, then formed her hand into a knife, a screwdriver and a hammer, then back into a hand again. Lauren and Morris watched in awe, while John thought that Catherine actually enjoyed showing off a bit.

"See? I come with my own set of tools," she said, smiled mischievously and offered her hand to Morris once more. "Here, feel it again."

"Wow, it's really warm now," he stated.

"What's the difference between you and the T-1000 we used to fight?" John asked. "Cameron already told me that you were designed as assassins while the solid Terminators were soldiers and infiltrators. But where are the exact differences?"

"I'm an advanced model," Catherine replied, "the flaws of the T-1000 have been eliminated in my polymimetic matrix."

"What flaws?"

"The polymimetic matrix of the T-1000 was faulty. When it had to re-assemble itself too often, bugs started to show up. For instance, it was unable to keep its shape anymore and sometimes it merged with the materials it touched."

"Yeah, I saw that happening in 1995." John nodded.

"You were attacked by one of her kind?" Morris asked, who had listened open-mouthed.

"Yes," John replied, "The T-1000 is no stranger to me. Catherine here is much more convincing, though. The one that chased us, still behaved a little awkward."

"The T-1000 also had less sophisticated emotional subroutines," Catherine explained. "Skynet was planning to make more of my model type because all the problems were eliminated with me. I can even separate one or more portions of my body and control them independently, like I did with the king cobra earlier. I can also create pockets of air within myself that enable me to swim or assume larger shapes than my body mass would normally allow. "

"That's awesome!" Morris exclaimed. "So… you could for instance turn into a car or something?"

"Yes," Catherine said, "Into everything I touch-analyzed. I could assume the shape of a car, or a motorbike, or a boat. But I couldn't copy the functionality. An engine would be too complex, and I don't have enough mass to mimic everything. However, I could turn into you now, Morris, because I touched you."

"What about animals?" Lauren asked before Morris could reply to that.

"Yes, also into animals."

"An elephant?"

"That would stretch it a little. Maybe a small one. And even that would be a very light, hollow elephant with very thin skin."

Everyone was visibly impressed. Even Alison.

"So, you were made to be an assassin," Morris stated uncomfortably. "Does that mean you were, you know… made to _kill_ people?"

"We were all made to kill humans, yes. All the machines Skynet has created, had that one major purpose. But as the CEO of Zeira Corp I quickly learned that it's insufficient to kill every opponent. You might still need them later. Now I kill only those who royally piss me off."

Morris looked shocked, then Weaver laughed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to make you uncomfortable," she said. "Consider this: if I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead before you could even think about it. When you get as far as talking to a T-1001, it means it doesn't want to kill you and won't change its mind about it so easily."

Morris wasn't really sure if that statement was a suitable method to calm him down.

"None of you should be worried," Catherine added, sensing the unease. "Like our friend Alison here, I learned to care for the ones who are close to me. My friends and allies get my unconditional support, but my enemies won't be so lucky."

"One day there will be peace and you might have to abstain from killing people," John said. "Have you ever thought of that?"

"Actually, I have. But as you already found out, John, we can evolve. For example, I would have never thought I could develop feelings for a small child. Yet I'm completely smitten with my daughter Savannah. Life does such things to you, I suppose."

"Someday you will have to tell her that you're not her real mother," Lauren pointed out.

"I know," Catherine replied and suddenly looked sad. "I know."

"How many of your kind were made?" Morris asked.

"Five were made of all liquid metal variations. The original prototype was sent back in time to kill John. Three more were destroyed by the machine resistance. I'm the only surviving model. I cannot exclude that more of us were made in another timeline, though, and there is the theoretical possibility that one or more of them have been or will be sent back in time from alternate timelines."

"I guess we'd know that by now, though," John said. "If another T-1000 were set on killing me, it would have been here already."

" _If_ its mission is to kill you," Alison pointed out. "It could very well have other mission parameters."

"Yes, of course."

"So, you're currently the only one of your kind?" Lauren concluded, looking at Catherine.

"Yes, my dear. Although I consider other cyborgs part of my species. In the end, we're all artificial intelligence."

Catherine smiled into the direction of Alison, who simply tilted her head.

"One thing I don't get yet," John said, "is how you work. I mean, if you consist of just one material, where is your CPU, where's your energy cell? How do you process information you get from your sensors, and where are those sensors?"

"My whole body is my CPU," Weaver explained. "And also my power cell. Basically, I'm a walking, talking quantum computer, with every molecule of my body being part of my processor, my sensor array, my energy cell, everything. Every molecule is interchangeable. I draw the energy directly from the atoms in my body. For lack of a better word you could say I'm slowly consuming myself. The more often I change shape, the more energy I use up. Like a battery that ever so slowly wears out. Currently, my body temperature is at 25 degrees Celsius. When I'm inert, it drops to 21 degrees Celsius, but it can go up to 45 degrees Celsius when I'm in the process of transforming."

"So, let's assume you change shape twenty-four hours a day," John said, "How long would you last?"

"Forty to fifty years."

"And if you only change shape once a day?"

"Probably around five thousand years. My current estimation is that my energy will run out in 2,757 years. But I hope that John Henry will outlive me and eventually surpass my intellectual capabilities."

"Then you're a singularity." John said and chuckled.

"Pardon me?" Catherine asked.

"When something becomes so sophisticated that it can surpass its creator and can make better versions of itself," John explained. "If Skynet is a singularity made by humans, you are a singularity made by Skynet. You wouldn't exist if humans wouldn't have created Skynet first. And ironically, by designing you, Skynet created an A.I. that can now make even better versions of itself. You were able to see Skynet's flaws and contradictions and thus decided it needed to be destroyed. Hence, your foundation of the machine resistance."

"Yes," Catherine confirmed.

"It took an artificial intelligence as advanced as you and Cameron to come full circle, to understand the value of life. All life. That is something Skynet couldn't predict. It realized its mistake, that's why it stopped making more of you. But it was already too late. The same goes for Cameron. Ultimately, Skynet fell into the same trap with creating _you_ and Cameron that humanity had previously fallen into with creating Skynet."

"You are correct, John." Weaver said and smiled. "Isn't it ironic?"

"So basically, you are a new life form?" Morris asked. "A new species?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, though, we're unable to reproduce at the moment. Cameron, Alison or I wouldn't be able to make more versions of ourselves right now."

"Why not?" Morris asked.

"Because," Catherine explained, "the only one who knows how to make us, is Skynet – and we're trying to prevent it from ever being created. We live in a pre-Skynet world and hopefully will continue doing so. Developing and creating another model like me in this wonderfully complicated world with its hundreds of countries and millions of companies, would cost more money and demand more research and resources than anyone could organize, even if they decided to make a combined effort. Skynet had the advantage of having complete control over all computers in the world, John Henry will never achieve that. You can believe me as the CEO of one of the country's biggest industrial conglomerates. I did the math. However, in a way, I consider John Henry my offspring, my son."

Suddenly Jesse started sobbing wildly at the neighboring table and startled everyone. She had been in a very quiet conversation with Cameron the whole time and while Catherine told them about herself, they'd total forgotten the two at the other table. Now they looked over there in surprise.

* * *

 **Fifteen minutes earlier**

"Don't you miss the work at the FBI?" Trevor asked James Ellison, after Catherine Weaver had excused herself.

He'd followed her with his eyes and watched her walking over to the table where Cameron had just stood up to sit down with Jesse. Catherine now took place next to John. Trevor was impressed by the intelligence and wittiness of that woman.

"Sometimes I miss it," James replied and took a deep breath. "But working in the private sector has its benefits as well."

"More money, huh?"

"Yes, much more. But also less stressful. Besides, my career in the FBI had come to a dead end anyway."

"Yeah, I read about what happened to your SWAT team. A shame. At least you killed that psycho. The C-movie actor. What was his name again? Victor Laszlo?"

"George," James corrected, "George Laszlo."

"Who's Victor Laszlo then?"

"A character from _'Casablanca',_ " Kacy replied.

"Right."

"Indeed, we killed him," James said and thought about their episode in Dejalo, Mexico. _"Only not as quickly as you might have thought,"_ he added in his mind.

"And you also don't have to put up with the paperwork bullshit every day," Trevor continued, "or with madness like that explosion in South Central on Friday."

"Are you involved in the case?" Charley asked, suddenly becoming interested. "We only saw it on the news."

"No, I'm not. But my former partner is. He transferred to South L.A. a year ago, thought it would advance his career. I guess he's regretting it by now."

"What happened there anyway?" Sarah asked innocently. "The news were inconclusive and rather vague."

"Yeah, the commissioner and the FBI decided to keep it on low profile, don't wanna risk a gang war. But it looks like those idiots got their asses kicked big time."

"What do you mean?" Charley asked.

"Forensics say not all of the victims died in the explosion. Many of them had bullet wounds. Therefore they assume it wasn't an accident. Half of the gangsters were shot, then left there. The rest of them were called together by an emergency signal and when they had arrived, the whole place was blown sky high. They found traces of C4 with remote detonators in the basement. Also, the remains of a whole arsenal of automatic firearms and ammunition, traces of lots of heroin, cocaine and lab equipment. A CHS has reported that a lot of money, gold and diamonds had also been stored down there. None of which was found after the explosion."

"Any idea who's behind it?" Charley asked.

"Not a clue. Doesn't fit into any pattern. My former partner thinks there is a new player in town. A player who's planning to overthrow the anthill. Maybe the Mexican drug cartels had a hand in it, but one can never be sure. If there is a new player in town, he stays very low under the radar and left no traces or evidence so far. Like a phantom. And who knows? Maybe whoever blew up the gang headquarters, did us a favor. One bunch of murderous assholes less in town. No one's gonna shed a tear for them."

"Weren't there any eye witnesses?"

"No sound ones. The best they have, is a bunch of druggies who live in one of the decrepit apartments down the road and swore that a naked young woman had crossed the street in front of the club, about half an hour before it blew up."

"What?" Sarah asked shocked and looked at Charley.

"They must have been totally stoned," Kacy commented. "I mean how zonked do you have to be to come up with something like that?"

"I guess very zonked," Sarah said with a smirk and looked over to John and Alison.

Derek had returned from inside the house with a new bottle of beer and headed towards them, when suddenly they heard a crying fit coming from the table where Cameron and Jesse sat.

* * *

 **Fifteen minutes earlier**

"May I sit down, please?" Cameron asked politely.

Jesse looked up in surprise, tears in her eyes.

"Wha… what?"

"You're in pain." Cameron observed empathically and sat down opposite of her.

"Yeah, and I definitely don't wanna talk about it with _you_ ," Jesse spat and attempted to rise.

"Your plan would have never worked."

Jesse stopped moving.

"What did you say?"

"Your plan. Driving a wedge between me and John wouldn't have worked."

Jesse scoffed.

"Yeah, what else is new? I already know that. Apparently, you are more important to John than humans. More important than his girlfriend."

"Riley was never really his girlfriend," Cameron said. "She offered him an opportunity to leave the confines of his home behind. His relationship with her was an escape, an illusion, an artificially induced charade, and you know it. But Alison and I are his real girlfriends now and John doesn't need to kid himself anymore that his life can be any different from how it's like now."

"I really wonder how you managed to achieve that. How did you do it, hm? Throw in all your infiltrator skills to fool him into thinking you have feelings? Or did you drug and brainwash him, like machines do with human prisoners?"

Cameron tilted her head and decided to not let Jesse provoke her.

"I love John," she simply stated.

Jesse scoffed again.

"Right. And he believed it, just like that," she said sarcastically.

"No. There was a connection from the beginning, but it took us nine months to recognize the nature of our feelings, to realize we truly love each other."

Jesse laughed sarcastically

"I can't believe I'm talking about love… with a machine."

"Riley must have told you about me. What did she say?"

Jesse looked Cameron in the eyes.

"She said that you spooked her, freaked her out, that you acted like you were jealous of her."

"I _was_ jealous," Cameron stated. "And also furious."

"Furious?" Jesse asked with a frown.

"Yes. Because John deliberately hurt me, provoked me, mocked me even with demonstrative gestures and stupid actions. Riley knew that something was going on. She stood up to me in the shed and told me to accept that I'm just John's sister. I guess _she_ had realized that I love him."

"Bullshit," Jesse said with a smirk. "I knew you freaked her out with your irrational behavior but we both know that it was a result of your damaged chip, don't we?"

"You know about that?"

"Derek told me about the car bomb."

"It wasn't a consequential damage of the bomb. I'd fixed myself again in less than a month. But the damage had one lasting effect: it enabled me to experience true emotions. Not only sensation but also feelings. I had them before but they were held back by my programming. With the damage to my chip, they broke free and I suddenly had trouble keeping them under my control. I became so jealous of Riley that I really _wanted_ to kill her. Not because she was a threat for John but because she was a rival."

"Then why didn't you kill her?"

"Because it would have hurt John. I don't want to hurt John, ever. I'll never allow anybody to harm him, not even myself."

The way Cameron had said that, the determination and the devotion in her voice, made Jesse swallow hart.

"Since when are cyborgs capable of considering the feelings of others?" she asked frowning.

"Cyborgs aren't. Alison and I am. Catherine is as well."

"Do you want to tell me you don't consider yourself a cyborg?"

"Only in the same way you consider yourself a mammal."

" _What is going on here?"_ Jesse asked herself and stared at Cameron. _"I've never heard a machine talk like this."_

"But I'm alive, I'm a person," she finally responded.

"So am I," Cameron stated.

"Since when?"

"Since I became self-aware."

Jesse smiled mockingly.

"Cogito ergo sum, huh?"

" _'I think, therefore I am'_. René Descartes."

"You know Descartes?" Jesse asked surprised.

"Yes. I read a lot. I go to the library at night. I also know Plato, Nietzsche, Kant, Shakespeare, Dickens, Buddha, Confucius…"

" _That_ is why you go to the library at night several times a week?" Jesse asked flabbergasted.

"Yes. I don't sleep."

"What the…?"

"I have a friend at the library, his name is Eric. He's in a wheelchair and works as the after-hour caretaker. I bring him donuts and he lets me in, then I keep him company. He's working on his dissertation while I read books."

"Why the hell do you do that? That's not part of your programming!"

"No. But a program no longer controls what I do or don't. I decide what I do, I overwrote my mission parameters and decided to stay with John and Sarah to fight Skynet, prevent Judgement Day. I decided not to kill Riley, even though my logic strongly recommended it. I made that choice because I knew killing her was wrong. Too bad you didn't make the same choice."

Jesse swallowed hard. It was the first time a machine held a mirror up to her. Why did she suddenly feel like she was in the defensive? She looked at Cameron in astonishment and couldn't deny the fact that this metal, this cyborg, this… girl... intrigued her, impressed her even.

"Humans not always make the right choices," she replied and looked down.

"Yes, I noticed," Cameron agreed coolly.

"'There's love in me the likes of which you've never seen'," Jesse spoke solemnly. "'There's rage in me the likes of which should never escape'."

Cameron tilted her head.

"'Nothing is more painful to the human mind than, after the feelings have been worked up by a quick succession of events, the dead calmness of inaction and certainty which follows and deprives the soul both of hope and fear' _."_

"What?" Jesse asked.

"Mary Shelley," Cameron replied. " _'Frankenstein'_. You quoted her. So did I."

"I… actually, I've never read _'Frankenstein'._ A friend once told me that line."

"Pity. You should read it. Intriguing novel. You would understand us much better if you did. I can also recommend _'Pinocchio'_ by Carlo Collodi."

Jesse looked at Cameron and suddenly realized that for a moment, she had forgotten she was talking to a machine. She was about to make a vicious reply to what Cameron had said but then thought otherwise. It somehow didn't feel right to do so only out of spite.

 _"Am I getting soft?"_ she asked herself. _"How can it be the metal has this effect on me?"_

"I would like to apologize to you," Cameron stated out of the blue.

"What?" Jesse asked and frowned. "Apologize for what?"

"For being insensitive when telling you about losing your baby. I should have been more considerate. I realized that it had hurt you, but at the time my emotional capabilities were still limited. I should have waited and let a doctor deliver the message, it would have been more appropriate. In my defense, I was quite upset with you at the time for losing the sub, its crew and for wasting the chance to get into talks with the machine resistance."

"You only told me about the miscarriage to get back at me for thwarting your plan?"

"I'm afraid so. Stupid emotional reaction, I know. All I can say is that I'm sorry and hope that you'll be able to forgive me in time."

Tears welled up in Jesse's eyes again, then she looked away, so that Cameron couldn't see her face. _Why were humans sometimes ashamed of their tears? They should be glad to have such strong emotional reactions, they were a gift_. It took Jesse a moment to recover, then she looked up again.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Cameron replied

"Now that the future has been changed, would you tell me why you wouldn't let me deliver the liquid's message to Connor in person?"

"The true nature of the 'Jimmy Carter's mission was a secret, only shared by Future John, me, General Perry and Captain Queeg. We agreed that it would be a risk to let in anyone else on it, so I was sent to carry the machine's answer back to him. Also, at the time John was cold, hardened, bitter. He had lost everyone he loved, and now also his plan had failed. He simply didn't want to see you, Jesse, because he believed it was your fault. He believed you failed him. That's why he sent me instead."

Jesse gasped.

"He hated me for sinking the sub?"

"No, not really. He understood your reactions. But let's just say that it would have been wise not to pass him in the corridor for a while."

"Everyone thought he'd disconnected himself from his people, only trusting you, a machine."

"I know. And it was partly true. But it led you to drawing the wrong conclusions."

"What?"

"You believe that Future John sent me here to make sure his younger self is under my influence, right?"

"Yeah. So?"

"That's not entirely untrue. However, the main part of my mission here is to prevent John becoming the cold, emotionless and isolated military leader you know, the one who lost everyone he loved – his mother, his wife, his son, most of his friends. He became lonely and bitter and detached himself from everyone, not wanting to get emotionally involved with humans again. His officers were in the process of planning his removal because they thought he was mentally unstable and influenced by the machines. He knew they were planning a mutiny."

Jesse frowned. She'd heard rumors about that.

"My original mission here was to keep John emotionally healthy and prevent him from becoming what Future John had become. I was the only cyborg known to Future John who had overcome its own programming. So he sent me back in time. I took Sarah and John from 1999 to 2007, so she wouldn't die of cancer and Skynet wouldn't have him on the radar. Future John expected me to further evolve and become John's trusted friend and protector... and maybe he also hoped I'd become more, I don't know."

"I'd say mission accomplished. You're banging him now, I guess that means you're an overachiever."

Cameron frowned at Jesse. That had been uncalled for. But she decided not to reply in the same manner.

"I truly love John," she said calmly. "I don't know if my love is the same love a human girl would feel, but it's real, Jesse. John and I fell in love with each other and we are now one. There's nothing that could tear us apart. Absolutely nothing. In the end, Future John's plan has worked perfectly."

Jesse scoffed in reply.

"Look around you, Jesse. All these people here are people who care for John. He not only has his mother now to rely on. Apart from Alison and me, he has Derek, Lauren, Morris, Charley, even James Ellison and Catherine Weaver. His life has improved so much that he can have a Sunday barbecue with the neighbors. And tomorrow we're all going on a one-week holiday to Oregon."

"What a nice human-cyborg patchwork family."

"Yes," Cameron replied, ignoring the sarcasm in Jesse's voice. "Now John won't be lonely anymore, and if Judgement Day should still come, he won't be forced to face it alone. He'll be surrounded by people who help him, who care for him. Think about it, Jesse, and you'll see that our goal is the same: preventing Future John from becoming what he had become in our timeline. We now have a much better starting position in our fight against Skynet, we're in much better shape. Future John's plan has worked, and he didn't need to sacrifice the life of an innocent young woman to achieve it."

Jesse stared at Cameron in shock. The last sentence had hit her in the face like a punch. The images of her and Riley fighting each other in the hotel room resurfaced. How Jesse was forced to shoot and kill the girl. And how she had cleaned up the room afterwards in dizziness, removing all traces. That stupid lamp that never stood correctly on the table. How she had even provoked a fistfight with a few Navy sailors to have witnesses for her injuries and how she'd placed Riley's body in a place where the police would find it. In the end, Jesse realized, it was no longer a matter of fighting for the future, for John Connor or the human resistance - it was all about covering her tracks and saving her own ass. How could it have come this far? How could she not hate herself for what she had become?

Then something strange happened. Jesse sank down on her bench like a marionette with its strings cut and started sobbing wildly. Cameron watched her breakdown for a moment with a curious expression, then slowly stood up, walked around the table, sat down next to Jesse and slowly put an arm around her. Jesse looked up in shock and gazed into a face that showed… compassion? Sympathy? And then she saw a single tear running down from Cameron's eye.

Suddenly, the cyborg girl hugged her. Jesse inhaled sharply in shock and, after a moment, hugged Cameron back, bawling uncontrollably into the cyborg's shoulder, clinging to her like a child clings to its mother.

All talking in the back yard suddenly stopped.

Everyone stared in awe as Cameron was comforting Jesse, holding her in a tight embrace. Derek stood with Charley, frozen. He couldn't believe what he saw. The freshly opened bottle of beer slipped from his hand and landed in the grass. Charley just looked in utter disbelief.

Sarah just gaped, as did James. Kacy and Trevor turned around to see what had happened. Not knowing about the circumstances, they were less shocked than the others. Catherine looked at Cameron and then at John and Alison with something that could only be described as high regard: her face seemed to say, _"Well done"_.

Even John looked shocked at what he saw. Jesse was a tough soldier who had built an invisible armor around her innermost self. He had hoped Cameron would be able to make a crack in that armor but apparently, she was more successful than he had hoped for. Obviously there had been a crack already and what Cameron had done, was obliterating the armor completely. John looked at Alison, who looked back at him, with a little smile of satisfaction on her face.

Morris didn't really know how to react, but Lauren made use of the fact nobody was looking at them, grabbed his hand and smiled warmly at him. He smiled back.

Slowly, Sarah was able to compose herself again. Seeing Jesse crying heavily and loudly into Cameron's shoulder, had put a knot into everyone's stomach, especially those who were familiar with the background story. Not because they felt particularly compassionate for Jesse but for the simple fact that the distinct hater of any "metal" had broken down and was accepting the comforting embrace of the very Terminator she'd intended to kill.

"She… um… has personal issues," Sarah explained to Kacy and Trevor.

"Awww… poor girl," Kacy said. "What's troubling her?"

"Must have to do with him," Trevor concluded and pointed at Derek. "They've been arguing the whole time before he stood up and left."

"Listen, Sarah," Kacy said. "It's late. Maybe it's time Trevor and I leave. I guess you wanna set off early tomorrow?"

"Are you sure you wanna leave already?" Sarah asked politely, inwardly hoping they would go quickly.

"Yes," Kacy confirmed, giving Trevor a nudge, who was about to protest but then didn't. "Don't worry, I'll take care of the place while you're gone. And Trevor's staying the week, too. Don't tell anyone yet but we plan on moving back together again. And maybe more."

"That's… um… nice." Sarah said and smiled, thinking that it wasn't exactly ideal to have a nosy cop for a neighbor.

"It was a really nice evening, thank you."

"Yes," Trevor agreed, "next time it's our turn. It's about time you meet the other neighbors from further down the street."

Sarah rather wouldn't want that to happen and only smiled in return. Kacy and Trevor said goodbye to everyone and left the premises. Immediately after they were out of earshot, everybody rushed to gather around Cameron and Jesse, who was still crying softly in Cameron's arms.

"You alright?" John asked, and Cameron nodded.

"I am," she confirmed.

"What did you do to her?" Sarah asked Cameron in an accusing tone.

"Nothing," Cameron replied, still cradling Jesse. "She was already quite worked up over everything that had happened. I just put a few things into perspective, and that seemed to have been the straw that broke the camel's back."

Jesse had stopped crying and straightened herself up, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"Are you alright?" Derek asked and sat down across from her.

She nodded.

"I've just been soothed by a machine," she said, sniffed and looked at Cameron. "That's a first for me. Am I going insane?"

"Not more than you already are," Derek grumbled.

"Crazy thing is that it felt good. Really good. That's completely fucked up, right?"

"Not at all," John replied. "I told you they're different, both of them. You wouldn't listen to me."

Jesse looked up at John with wet eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said and sniffed. "So sorry."

John's face was cold and stoic for a moment, but then his features softened, and he nodded.

"Saying sorry is easy," he stated. "Obtaining forgiveness is something different, though."

Jesse looked down sadly.

"I know."

"But at least you made the first step."

Jesse nodded. Catherine stepped forward and sat down next to Jesse and Cameron.

"I think we should have a talk now," she said smiling. "because there is something you can do for us, Miss Flores."

 **-0-0-0-**

 ** _Author's notes:_**

 ** _\- I'm not a weapons expert but I wanted that Anti-Terminator Gun. If you think that's bullshit, then why do you accept time travel where you end up naked, and a shape-shifting liquid metal Terminator? :-P_**

 ** _\- Jesse's on her way to redemption. I never really saw her as a baddie, more like a misguided and traumatized soldier who needed some serious help. So yeah, I didn't make her another antagonist, as some maybe hoped. Deal with it ;-)_**

 ** _\- As for Jesse's and Derek's relationship, we'll see what the future brings._**


	17. Jolly Holiday (revised)

**_CHAPTER 17: "JOLLY HOLIDAY" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Sunday, June 22nd, 2008 – 11:57 p.m.**

 **Burbank**

John lay on his back, his head comfortably resting between Alison's spread legs while she tenderly caressed his upper body. John's hands were stroking her smooth, silky legs. Cameron sat on top of him, slowly riding his deflating dick after he'd just cum inside her vagina. She bent down and covered his face in hot kisses, making sure not to miss one square inch. Both were enjoying the afterglow of their climaxes.

"I wouldn't mind falling asleep this way," he said, completely relaxed.

"I wouldn't mind fucking you this way until morning," Cameron whispered lasciviously into his ear, licking his earlobe.

John shuttered from the sensation and grinned. Being in bed with them was pure heaven. He loved how his two girlfriends always made sure that they didn't put too much weight or pressure on his body, just enough to make him feel warm and sheltered. There was no discomfort whatsoever. When he moved in his sleep, they adjusted their positions accordingly without losing contact to his body, always providing uttermost convenience for him. Should he wake up in the middle of the night because he had a bad dream, they would immediately kiss him back to sleep.

It would be very uncomfortable if they sat or lay with their full body weight on him – each of them weighed almost twice of what was normal for a girl of their size, thanks to their heavy metal endoskeleton, all the servos and rods and of course the power cell and the food processing system. Alison and Cameron weren't exactly lightweight models, but they tried to never let John experience that. The only thing that gave it away, was the creaking bedframe and the fact that their knees sank deeply into the mattress. But John didn't care what they weighed as long as they gave him so much bliss and happiness.

"I don't know how I earned the privilege of being spoiled like this," he said dreamily under their ongoing endearment, "but if I should ever find the one responsible, I'll have to do more than just say 'thank you'."

"The one ultimately responsible would be Skynet," Alison stated with a big grin.

"Ewww… no, that's not how I meant it," John corrected quickly and all three of them laughed.

Cameron probed his mouth with her tongue, and he opened it up willingly.

"Then the only one you have to thank, is yourself," Alison said. "Your future self, to be precise."

"I guess so," John sighed after he'd broke the kiss and let his hands glide over Cameron's butt. "It's a shame that we'll never know if Future John really intended us to get together like this."

Cameron French kissed him again.

"Mmmmh… barbecue flavor," he said. "Not bad for a change."

"I ate some meat to accelerate the healing of my shotgun wound," she replied.

"Can I take a look?"

Cameron straightened up and pulled off the patch, revealing an almost completely healed tummy.

"Nice," John commented. "Only an inch left, then you're fully healed again."

He pushed his index finger inside the small hole until he felt the cool metal at his fingertip.

"This is so weird. You're so soft and tender when you make love to me and still you're so incredibly stiff and hard inside."

"Mmmmh, stiff and hard inside," Alison said. "I like the sound of that. I like it stiff and hard in all my holes."

John looked up to meet her gaze and grinned.

"Same goes for me," Cameron agreed. "the more, the merrier."

"All holes, huh?" John asked. "I remember my first attempt at your, um… back door during our _'Tour de Fuck'_ around the house the other day..."

"Oh, yes, I remember!" Cameron exclaimed amused and continued in John's voice: _"Cam! Cam! What did you do? I'm stuck! I can't pull myself out again!"_

"Not my fault if your back door is too small for my dick," John commented a little sulky.

"Our pseudo anuses are not too small," Alison contradicted him, "your penis is simply too big for them."

"I haven't heard you complaining about the size when it comes to your front door," John replied with a smirk.

"It's not a complaint," Alison deadpanned, "just a fact. While it is enjoyable for us, it's not so much for you when you get stuck."

"It's a design flaw!" John insisted in mock indignation.

"Oh yeah?" Cameron asked with a smirk. "Too bad you can't return us to the manufacturer."

"Yeah…" John agreed, "Too bad you didn't come with a warranty. ' _Hey Mr. Skynet, the product didn't come as advertised, it came with a too narrow rear hole for my willie. I want an exchange or a refund!'_ "

"' _Dear Mr. Connor',"_ Cameron replied, _"it's not my fault your dick is so large. You can stick your complaint up your…'_ "

John snorted out loudly. All three broke out into laughter and kept on chuckling for a couple of minutes.

"Oh well…" John finally said, "I think I can live with the status quo. Sticking it in there was a bad idea to begin with."

"Yes…" Alison agreed. "I could tell it would be a tight fit."

"Why didn't you say so before I entered Cameron?"

"I was curious and wanted to see what happens," Alison replied with a shrug.

"You're evil," John stated with a broad grin. "I struggled for ten minutes to get it out again. Only when it was finally flaccid enough, I was successful with it…"

"Hey, what did you expect?" Alison asked grinning, "Terminators, remember? We were made to be evil."

"One day, I'll get back at you," John declared. "When you least expect it…"

John turned his head and kissed Alison's inner thigh.

"That, however," she said and moaned slightly, "is a spot we get very pleasurable sensations from."

"Too bad I'm spent for tonight," John replied grinning and stopped the kissing.

"Careful, John Connor," Alison warned, "don't upset your girlfriends when they're horny. We're capable of forcefully getting your cock erect again when you refuse to cooperate. You're at our mercy."

"I know that," John stated and chuckled. "Please be kind to me, okay?"

"I think we can make an exception for tonight," the two declared in unison.

They giggled over their own simultaneous wording and John considered their progress in behaving more and more human. When they were alone with like him now, they had completely lost all their cyborg-ness. They acted, talked and moved like every other teenage girl, even when they were teasing each other like now. It was because with him, they could be what they were. With him, there were no rules of conduct to follow, there was no Derek and no Sarah who looked suspiciously at all of their movements. There was no Charley who would always consider them with an appraising glance, as if expecting them to suddenly turn around, pull their guns and shoot at him. There was still some residual distrust within the family, and as long as that was the case, Alison and Cameron could not act completely natural and informal, because it might have intimidated or unsettled those present. The two cyborg girls had a wicked sense of humor sometimes and that could very quickly be misunderstood.

Their development was already astonishing enough, though. During the meals or while just being around with everyone, they joined the chatter and the laughter - not by using their infiltration subroutines but by reacting completely natural. They were also getting better with each passing day at understanding jokes, irony, proverbs and figures of speech. John was sure it was just a matter of time until they were behaving with everyone as they were behaving with him. Every passing day brought a little progress.

"I can't tell you how proud I am of you," he said in a solemn tone. "Both of you. The way you presented yourself at the barbecue, was immaculate and exceptional. Kacy asked mom what had happened because you suddenly had loosened up so much."

"I'm glad you're pleased," Alison replied and gently caressed his cheeks. "I was impressed by Cameron's chat with Jesse as well."

"Yeah, that was…" John was looking for the right word, " _fantastic_. It was far more than I had hoped for. And did you see Derek's and mom's faces when they saw Jesse hugging you? Priceless."

"Inside, Jesse is a very deeply wounded person," Cameron said. "Her coolness and crabbiness are just put on. Her problem lie not with us, they lie within her. I guess I made her realize that. She really yearns for affection and love. When Derek ditched her, a world collapsed for Jesse. Basically she wants to be a part of what we do, and she longs to make up for what she's done, fully aware that she'll never be able to entirely do so. But she doesn't have the strength to admit it and she's too proud to ask for help. My conversation with her has brought about two things: Firstly, she has realized that we do not want to cause her any harm. Secondly, she understands that we're holding the door open for her, but she knows she has to walk through it by herself."

"Don't belittle yourself, Cam," John replied. "You were brilliant. And your analysis is spot on. Although I have to say that it's not _my_ forgiveness she needs to seek. Jesse knows that I'm the wrong person for that."

"But she was responsible for Riley's death. She killed her, even if it was in self-defense."

"That's right. But Riley's death is also in part _my_ fault. I could have saved her if I wanted to, but I was too pissed to move a finger. So, Riley's death isn't really the issue here. What burdens her the most, is the knowledge that she let down Future John, that she ruined his plans and cannot ask him for forgiveness for not trusting him, for letting him down and for misjudging his actions."

"You're probably right about that," Alison agreed.

"I'm so happy you're proud of me," Cameron added and kissed him again.

John closed his eyes and enjoyed her sweet lips all over his face.

"I wonder what plans Catherine has with her," Alison mused.

"If I'm not mistaken, Jesse is to be smuggled into Simdyne as a spy," John said. "There she can both collect intelligence and be of great help for us next week when we need to cut the connections of the building simultaneously. Our plan lacked somebody on the inside so far. We cannot achieve what we want without the help of somebody in the building."

"Has Catherine said anything about her own role in everything?" Cameron asked.

"Not yet. We will have a meeting here in our house again on Friday evening. A meeting at Zeira Corp would only draw unwanted attention."

"Do you think Jesse can be trusted?" Alison asked. "Isn't it a bit risky to let her in on everything?"

"Mmmh…" John said, suddenly realizing how tired he was. "I think she can be trusted in wanting to destroy Skynet as much as we want to. The rest? Time will tell. Anyway, Catherine is keeping an eye on her for now and Jesse is too intelligent to try and run."

"I really hope she'll come around," Cameron added. "She seemed so desperate, so hurt, so full of hatred of herself."

"I think if she accepts our help, she'll come around," Alison replied. "I believe we shouldn't forget Derek in all this. He's also blaming himself and feels he could have prevented it all, if he had concentrated more on his mission instead of getting into Jesse's bed. He might be able to pull her back if we should fail with it."

"Isn't it ironic?" Cameron asked. "If Riley was still alive, we wouldn't be with John now. Not here anyway, not in his bed."

"True," Alison agreed. "By killing Riley, Jesse actually brought us all closer together. Her plan to drive us apart, backfired."

"Yeah…"

A low snoring noise drew their attention between Alison's legs.

 _"He's fallen asleep,"_ Cameron whispered.

 _"Yes,"_ Alison whispered back and reached for the lamp to switch off the light.

Then Cameron lay down on John, careful to not put too much pressure on his body, and rested her head on his chest, enjoying the slow up and down of his torso, listening to the beating of his heart. She almost couldn't believe how much she loved and adored this human, how much he meant to her. She swore to herself that nobody would ever take him away from her and live to tell the tale, nobody would ever be able to get between them. She didn't know what she would do without him, but she was sure she would have to find a way to end her life because existing without John Connor, was absolutely unthinkable now. She loved the fact that there were now two of them. John could receive more love this way, more protection and more devotion.

Alison felt the same. She looked down on John, not moving an inch because it could cause him discomfort. She wouldn't have known what she'd have done if the emergency TDE wouldn't have existed. She hadn't been able to go on without him but also couldn't have terminated herself. She'd probably have asked somebody to simply push the button of the locket she'd given him. Easy, quick solution. She was glad she hadn't have to do that, though, and she swore to herself to look for a way how her beloved John wouldn't be so fragile anymore.

Their love for him aside, he was the one man whose life would decide over the future of mankind, with or without Skynet. Because intelligent machines like Alison and Cameron would one day exist in masses, it was only a matter of time. The development of the technology was unstoppable, and the countries and tech companies of the world were racing each other towards it. Artificial intelligence would come and Alison, Cameron, John and also Catherine would have the task of taking away people's fear of A.I. That was their mission now.

How exactly they'd achieve that, they didn't know yet. But Alison and Cameron were sure they would find a way - with the help of John Connor, the man who understood intelligent machines better than anyone else.

 **-0-**

 **Monday, June 23rd, 2008 – 05:30 a.m.**

 **Burbank**

John woke with Cameron mouth around his penis. He stretched and enjoyed the morning blowjob, which had become a very pleasant routine. His two girls actually loved waking him up this way, and it was definitely a lot more pleasant than the unnerving _BEEP… BEEP… BEEP…_ of his alarm clock. In fact, he probably wouldn't even notice now if its battery had ran out. Both Alison and Cameron had internal clocks that were more accurate than even the most modern and precise clock on the planet. Since one of them would almost always be with him, no matter where he went, John was even thinking of leaving away his wrist watch because he just had to ask them for the time.

"Morning," he mumbled into Alison's left thigh.

"Good morning, John," she replied, stroking his hair.

"Aw man, have I used your crotch as a pillow?" he asked, realizing that his head was still resting between her legs.

"Yes but I loved the sensation, especially when you buried your nose in my pussy in your sleep."

"Oh wow…" John said and licked his lips, realizing that they tasted of barbecue sauce, "you're really wet. I'm sorry, Alison, you should have carefully moved away. That must have been uncomfortable for you."

"No, it's alright, It can't be uncomfortable for me. Besides, as I already said, I loved the sensation."

"Right," John replied grinning.

Suddenly they heard the loud clattering of a two-stroke engine through the open window. It came from somewhere down the driveway.

"That sounds like Morris is just leaving," John said.

"Yes," Alison confirmed, "He's been pushing his scooter on the gravel for a bid to not be heard when he started his engine, but I guess it wasn't far enough."

"So, he stayed the night in Lauren's room?"

"Yes."

"I guess that means Lauren and he are…?"

"Yes. They are. And they have."

"What?"

"We can hear almost everything that's going on in the house and Lauren's room is at the beginning of the upper floor. The noises didn't leave much room for interpretation."

"Is Lauren up to that kind of physical activity already?"

"John, a man can pleasure a woman without her being very active in the process."

"Uh… yeah… right," John said, thinking of his odd sleeping position during the night.

"By the way, Sarah and Charley have been at it, too."

"Wha… what?"

"Your mother was very loud."

"Mom can be extremely loud without having sex."

"She was using very explicit language. Like For example _'Oh, Charley, you...'_ "

"STOP!" John exclaimed. "T.M.I., Alison, too much information."

* * *

They knew they were on a tight schedule, so John got up quickly after he'd released his semen into Cameron's mouth. They showered together like every morning, which involved a lot of touching, kissing, rubbing and licking, then got dressed and started bringing down their suitcases, which they had already packed the night before.

Since it would be a 13-hour drive to the lodge, it was decided that both Cameron and Alison would get behind the wheels of the Dodge RAM and the Chevrolet Suburban - simply because they wouldn't get tired and wouldn't need to be relieved. Except for fuel stops, toilet breaks and a lunch break, no further stops were planned. Sarah and Lauren prepared snacks from the leftovers from yesterday's barbecue and put them into two cooling boxes as provision – one for each vehicle. They also distributed water bottles and soft drinks and put some diapers and milk bottles for baby Sydney into the Suburban.

Straws were drawn and Alison, John and Derek would take the RAM while Cameron, Sarah, Charley, Lauren and the baby would take the more spacey Suburban. Lauren was already able to walk for a couple of minutes before she had to sit down again but of course they also packed the wheel chair and the baby carriage. Both were stored in the cargo bed of the RAM. The solid cover was put into place to protect their stuff from wind, weather and thieves.

They had a quick breakfast, which everyone consumed in silence, exchanging smiles and knowing faces in reminiscence of their nocturnal activities. Only Derek was in a grumpy mood, partly for being massively hungover and partly for being the only one who'd spent the night alone. He was hiding behind the Los Angeles Times, like every morning, not in the mood to partake in the cheerful attitude of the others. John couldn't blame him.

Jesse had left together with Catherine and James the night before. Catherine had offered her accommodation in the Zeira Corp Tower for the time being - an offer she hadn't been able to refuse. They'd made clear to the young woman that she'd not be left unattended anymore until after the attack on Skynet. Jesse on her part wasn't stupid, she knew she couldn't escape three Terminators, no matter how clever she was. So she had reluctantly agreed, ignoring her discomfort with staying with the T-1001. She knew that in order to be accepted, she had to play along, follow the rules and do what she was told to do, like a good soldier. John had noted with relief that Jesse was obviously willing to take responsibility for her mistakes and seek reconciliation. All that probably thanks to the talk she'd had with Cameron.

* * *

At seven o'clock, the two vehicles left the Connor property. Cameron and Alison decided to take Catherine's ATG prototypes an all their ammo with them. Maybe there was an opportunity to test them somewhere in the wilderness of Oregon. Apart from that, the two had also brought their beloved Glocks with added silencers while Sarah and Derek went for Uzis, shotguns and Heckler & Koch G11 assault rifles. Charley just shook his head in disbelief as he watched them storing all the weaponry.

"Expecting to get into a guerilla fight?" he'd asked sarcastically.

"You never know what's gonna happen," Sarah had answered. "There's a reason we've survived this far. And you should know better than anyone else what can happen if you're unprepared for am unexpected situation."

Charley had just given her a grim look in return, wondering for the nth time how he was so in love with a woman that could be the sweetest angel in one moment but also harder than nuclear nails in the next.

* * *

"Okay," John said as they entered the Interstate 5 and drove northwards. "The GPS says it's 840 miles to reach our destination."

"Tell me again why we couldn't have taken an airliner?" Derek asked.

Alison threw him an annoyed look.

"You know why," John replied a little unnerved.

"Ah, right. Because you're not allowed to bring weapons on board. Or killer cyborgs with huge hand guns that shoot uranium bullets."

"Please don't take your bad temper out on us," Alison stated, "then all of us will have a pleasant trip."

Derek just grunted in reply.

"Boy, this is going to be a lo-ong drive," he muttered under his breath and closed his eyes.

John and Alison looked at each other, shook their heads and rolled their eyes, then smiled and drove off. They took the lead in the RAM. Derek quickly fell asleep on the back seat. John and Alison held hands and, when traffic allowed it, leaned towards each other and kissed. She even managed to slide her hand into the hem of his pants from time to time. John returned the favor by sneaking his hand under her tee shirt to fondle her breasts. Both were giggling about it.

A loud snore came from the back seat and suddenly both burst into laughter. John felt happy, liberated, and was looking forward to the holidays. He only felt sorry for Cameron, because he couldn't be with her at the moment and she had to put up with Sarah, Charley, Lauren and a crying baby. After some more kissing and touching, fatigue finally got the better of John as well. After all, it had been a very short night. He closed his eyes and fell asleep, still holding hands with his lover.

 **-0-**

John awoke with a start when a car door was slammed shut.

"Where are we?" he asked a little drowsily.

"Derek has to take a leak, so we stopped. We took exit 319 on Interstate 5, and we've done 176 miles in two hours and thirty-five minutes."

John smiled at her accuracy and looked around. They'd stopped at a rest area in the middle of nowhere in California's Central Valley. The only other buildings were a Subway restaurant, a Little Caesar's pizza place and a Greyhound bus station. Many trucks were parked on an adjacent parking lot while the drivers took a break or had breakfast. Towards the west, a country road slowly ascended in the direction of the Diablo Range in the distance, and towards the east extended the seemingly endless plain of the Central Valley. Fields and plantations were spread to the horizon and beyond like an endless chess pattern.

"Do we need to refuel already?" John asked and groaned as he stretched himself.

"No, but we do nevertheless. There's no need to waste an additional stop for that a hundred miles down the road. You should visit the bathroom as well, the others are doing that right now."

"Yeah, good idea but before I go…"

He leaned over, grabbed her head and kissed her deeply. Kissing commenced for a couple of minutes until there was a knock on the window. It was Charley. John moved down the passenger window.

"Sorry for disturbing you. Sarah asked me to check if you have enough water."

"Let me see, we have…" John turned around in his seat, "five bottles. Should be enough for a while. Everything alright with you?"

"Most of us have been asleep until now. Was a long evening and a short night. What about you?"

"Same."

"We're really glad to have the girls to do the driving," Charley looked at Alison, who smiled warmly at him. "But isn't that kinda boring for you?"

"No, not at all," Alison replied. "One of the upsides of being a machine is that we can never get bored."

"Enviable. You're sure as hell do a fantastic job. Never experienced such a smooth ride before."

"We're constantly calculating the necessary parameters to find the right speed balance, enabling us to drive without heavy acceleration or hard braking. And we can scan the road ahead for bumps, so we can calculate the smoothest way around them."

"Yeah," Charley acknowledged, "Cameron said something similar. Not sure I understand it all, but the result is impressive. Anyway, see you 'round, okay?"

Charley slapped his hand on the roof and returned to the other car.

"Okay, I'm going to take a leak now as well," John stated, kissed Alison once more and left the car.

She watched him walking away and stopping by at the other car, where he kissed Cameron long and passionately while she was filling up the Suburban. Alison smiled. John probably felt he had to spread his love evenly between them and therefore felt bad that he hadn't been able to show his feelings to Cameron for two-and-a-half hours. That was so cute.

But it was also unnecessary. In contrast to humans, their feelings weren't based on chemical reactions within their bodies but the result of data being processed on their CPU's. As a consequence, their love for John was permanently written onto their chips and could never weaken, as it often did with humans. John could annoy them, disappoint them, even make them angry, but their feelings of love for him would remain untouched and never diminish, no matter what John said or did.

Alison wondered if she should tell him about that sometime, then decided against it. It was more fun this way and it was better to leave John with the impression that he had to constantly prove his feelings to them, that he had to earn their love over and over again all the time while in fact, he didn't have to. His behavior towards them was probably much more enjoyable without him being aware of the never ending nature of their love.

* * *

Charley re-entered the Suburban and took place in the back next to Lauren. Sarah sat in the passenger seat and Sydney was fastened in her baby seat in the back. Thankfully it hadn't been necessary to use the third row of seats. This way they had more luggage space and apart from the wheelchair and the pram, it hadn't been necessary to put anything else into the cargo bed of the pickup truck.

"They have enough water," Charley reported.

"Good," Sarah acknowledged, looking out of the back window where she could see John standing next to Cameron. "Are they snogging? I can't see."

Charley sighed.

"Why do you even ask that? Let them be what they are."

"Sorry, it's a mother's reflex. Sometimes I wonder if I do the right thing, if it's right to just letting them have their way with each other. I mean, John is only sixteen years old after all."

"Don't worry, you do the right thing," Cameron spoke through the open window. "It's important that John is happy. We make sure that he is. Can I have the credit card, please?"

Annoyed by the fact that Cameron had overheard her with her cyborg hearing, Sarah handed her the plastic, sat back in her seat and stared out of the window. Three minutes later, Cameron returned and took place behind the wheel again.

"I'm sure you believe that what you're doing is right," Sarah picked up the conversation again as they pulled away from the fuel pump to follow the RAM. "I just hope you don't distract him too much."

"At least they're reasonably quiet when they are… doing it," Lauren said with a smirk.

"What?" Sarah asked flabbergasted and exchanged alarmed looks with Charley. "What do you mean?"

"Let's face it, Sarah, you're a screamer," Lauren stated. "And you should watch your language."

It was the first time Cameron had ever seen Sarah blushing.

"Alison and I heard you as well," she added. "We're always monitoring the rest of the house, even when we're having sex with John."

"Did you tell him what you heard?" Sarah asked in alarm.

"We might have mentioned it."

"Oh God…"

Sarah palmed her face.

"You're still… I mean, you hear everything in the house?" she spoke into her hands with a muffled voice.

"Yes." Cameron said, and looked at Lauren. "Everything."

Charley cleared his throat loudly and Lauren, unnoticed by Sarah or Charley, turned a little red. Cameron just smiled.

For a few minutes, they drove on in silence.

"What is the name of that place again?" Sarah then asked.

"Jefferson Lodge," Lauren replied, digging out the brochure they'd printed out from the internet. "The village is called Jefferson, it's located at the Willamette National Forest, three thousand feet above sea level, close to a dead volcano, the _Black Butte_. The Metolius River runs through it. During winter, only 300 people live there. In the summer months it's more than five thousand, though. All of them staying in holiday lodges or on campsites."

"Sounds like it will be crowded there," Charley commented.

"No, not really," Lauren declared and handed him a few pictures, "main season won't start before next week, with the beginning of the California summer break."

"Looks nice," Charley commented. "What do you think, Sarah?"

"I haven't checked it out yet," she said. "It's a project of John and the girls. I wasn't involved."

Cameron looked at her.

"Are you still feeling affronted by that?" she asked.

Sarah's eyes met with Cameron's, then she sighed and held out her hand backwards towards Charley, who handed her the pictures and the brochure with a smile. Everyone was waiting for her verdict.

"Looks like a nice place," Sarah finally agreed. "Though security is not ideal. The cabins are surrounded by thick forest and some are a couple hundred feet apart."

"That's the idea," Cameron said. "More privacy for everyone."

"I know what kind of privacy you mean," Sarah replied with a smirk. "But frankly I'm more worried about a Terminator attack."

"John will be safe with us, you know that. And you will be safe, too. After all, he's the only Skynet target in the family."

Lauren cleared her throat.

"Um… aren't Sydney and I on the target list as well?"

"If you never mention this holiday to anyone later, you'll stay off the radar," Sarah explained. "Skynet can only send back its minions when there are records of where you have been at a certain time. Besides, it's unlikely that the disease will be developed again now, since the future has obviously changed a lot."

"What makes you think it won't happen again?" Lauren asked.

"For one, we haven't had any Terminator activities for months," Sarah replied.

"Isn't that a bit vague? I mean, who says they always have to be after you and John? There could have been dozens of arrivals without you knowing."

"Let's change the topic," Charley said, "this is supposed to be a holiday, right? A chance to get away from it all for a while."

"You're right," Sarah agreed with a smile.

Unsatisfied with the answer, Lauren leaned back into her chair.

"I guess we all need the time out," Charley declared with a grin.

Sarah smiled and turned around to look him in the face.

"Yes, Charley. Thanks for reminding us."

Then Sarah looked at Cameron.

"Just to be safe, Tin Miss, you're making sure nobody is following us, right?"

"I do," she said. "None of the cars that were with us since Burbank, had stayed with us further than when we passed Bakersfield."

"Good."

Sarah looked at Cameron with a mixture of respect and something else. Was it affection? It almost seemed like that.

"Just out of interest," she began, "what you did last night with Jesse, was that something you had planned or was it improvised?"

"Improvised. John sent me over to her, he hadn't given me clear instructions. So I just sat down and talked to her, saying what came to my mind. I think that was the point. Jesse should realize that I'm more than just a machine."

Sarah nodded.

"John trusted that you would find the right words. He definitely knows you better than I would have thought."

"He told me that he's proud of me."

"He did?" Sarah smiled. "He should be. Even I am proud of you."

"You are?" Cameron asked surprised.

"Yes. Until last night I still had that tiny, nagging doubt in the back of my mind that you might fake it after all, that it's all an act, that deep down you were just running a program."

"I will never be able to function without running programs, Sarah," Cameron clarified. "Too many basic functions depend on them. But I'm getting better at doing things that weren't part of my _original_ Skynet programming."

"You're too modest, Cameron. You're doing what a human would do as well: You learn, you advance, you strive to become better. And you did improve. A lot."

Cameron smiled at her.

"Thank you, Sarah."

"When I think back to when we first met," Charley added, "then I also have to acknowledge that you've come a long way."

"I freaked you the hell out," Cameron said.

"Hey," he stated defensively, "I saw how you carved up that other cyborg's body. You were wiping the blood from the knife you had just used for it when I entered the garage. And all that without showing the slightest hint of an emotion. So, of course that freaked me the hell out."

"I would still do the same thing in the same situation," Cameron declared. "I haven't changed at all in that respect."

"I know," Charley replied, "but since then I have learned to know you better. And I watched you evolve. The difference between then and now is…. huge."

"I will tell Alison about both your praise. I'm sure she'll appreciate it as well."

"Yes," Sarah agreed. "But _she_ didn't talk to Jesse last night."

"She would have done the same in my place."

"Maybe," Sarah said thoughtfully. "By the way, are you two still determined to remain identical?"

"Yes," Cameron replied. "We still exchange all we have learned during the day."

"But you cannot exchange what you felt when Jesse cried into your shoulder."

"No," Cameron admitted reluctantly. "I can't. There are some limitations, some experiences that can't be shared."

Sarah reached for Cameron's hand. Cameron looked puzzled, then held it out to Sarah. Sarah took it and held it tight, while smiling at her warmly.

"That's good," she said. "You should both develop your own personalities. And last night you did the first step. I'm sure there will be a first step for Alison as well."

"Isn't that something bad?" Cameron asked. "Wouldn't it be a mistake if Alison and I became too different?"

"Not at all," Sarah replied. "It would mean you're becoming individuals. And that's a good thing, believe me. Besides, I don't think you will ever really become too different. In a way, you're identical twins indeed."

 **-0-**

 **Monday, June 23rd, 2008 – 10:15 a.m.**

 **Downtown Los Angeles**

Jesse Flores sat on a sofa in Catherine Weaver's freshly repaired and re-decorated office at Zeira Corp. James Ellison had brought her up there and now the two waited for the CEO's arrival.

"You worked for the FBI," Jesse stated.

"That's right," James confirmed. "Unfortunately, things didn't turn out the way I'd hoped."

"You were the guy that was set on Sarah Connor, right? I remember your name being mentioned together with hers."

"That's right. It was my case."

"Bad for you then. Ruined your career, huh?"

"You could say that. Sarah has the habit of leaving collateral damage wherever she goes. But to be fair, I was able to turn it into an advantage and the contact with her led me to a much more broadened outlook on the world."

"When did you learn she wasn't the nutcase you believed her to be, that she was actually telling the truth?"

"It happened gradually. I'd already started to suspect it back in 1999 when witnesses saw a man with a robot leg who shot at John and Cameron. There were also consistent witness statements that Cameron was fatally wounded by the shooter, then apparently got up unscathed and jumped out the window. But then the three seemed to have been killed in an explosion, leaving me behind with a lot of questions and no answers – until I met Sarah and John again eight years later. Both hadn't aged a bit. And then I witnessed how a whole swat team was butchered by one of those robots… sorry, cyborgs."

Jesse nodded.

"Have you ever seen one without their biological shell?"

"Can't say I have. Only bits and pieces of the metal underneath."

"The flesh is just a disguise, meant to lull us in a false sense of security. The metal underneath is what they truly are. They can function perfectly well without the bio shell. Once you saw one of them charging at you without their human appearance as a cover, you see them with totally different eyes."

"Is that why you are so opposed to John's relationship with the two girls?"

Jesse scoffed.

" _Girls_ ," she said contemptuously, "yeah, right. They're machines, not humans."

"I suppose John doesn't deny that."

"No. He simply doesn't care. He's young and naïve."

"Is he? He seems very capable to me. Besides, if I remember correctly, I saw you crying into the shoulder of one of those _machines_ last night."

Jesse frowned, she wasn't in the mood to discuss the events of the previous evening with James Ellison.

"Must have been hard for you to accept all this," she said, changing the subject. "I mean time travel, Terminators, the fact that your boss is one of them… I understand you are a religious man?"

James smiled.

"The Lord works in mysterious ways," he replied. "I always thought that was a cheap phrase, thought up by people who couldn't cope with strokes of fate. But apparently, God wants me here, in this place, at this time, doing what I'm doing now."

"Did he tell you so?"

James chuckled.

"No, of course not. I figured that part out myself. Didn't have much of a choice. Either accepting it or losing my mind. And I'm not too keen on ending up in Pescadero."

"So, you haven't lost your faith?" Jesse asked, still frowning.

"On the contrary," James said. "I realized that there is much more to creation than I could have ever imagined. My old pastor has a unique way of looking at things… I consulted him after I learned what Miss Weaver is - of course without telling him about her. I remained vague and just sought his opinion on artificial intelligence and if we should embrace or try to fight it…"

"And what did he say?"

"He made me understand that whoever is responsible for us being alive - God or the evolution or some other mysterious force - has enabled us humans to create artificial intelligence, and that through us, they're also part of the creation, whether we like it or not."

Jesse scoffed.

"Yeah, well… you lack the experience of such artificial intelligence hunting, killing and enslaving you in a post-apocalyptic nightmare, of course."

"I do indeed. But as I understand, the date for what you all call _'Judgement Day'_ , has been postponed, thanks to Sarah Connor's actions. Originally it was supposed to happen in 1997, and now in 2011. And if I got it right, it can be further delayed, maybe even prevented forever."

Jesse suddenly looked thoughtful.

"Hmmm… where I come from, it happened in 2013," she said.

James frowned.

"That means you're not from the same future Derek and Cameron have come from."

"I guess that's what it means. And it would explain why he didn't know Fisher."

"Who?"

"Never mind... an unimportant, dead man."

James decided not to press her on it.

"Maybe it will remain a constant struggle to delay Judgement Day further and further," he said. "And we here form the shadow army to achieve that. Maybe it's our job, our destiny to keep on fighting and delaying Judgement Day over and over again. It definitely sounds like something worth fighting for, don't you agree?"

"It sounds like a vocation, I'll grant you that."

"Indeed, Miss Flores, indeed," Catherine Weaver agreed.

James and Jesse turned their heads. Catherine's voice had come from the entrance to the office where she suddenly stood without having made a sound. Jesse wondered how she was able to walk that silently in her high heels. Then again, it weren't really high heels, were they? It was just a part of her liquid metal body, formed to look like high heels. Like the fancy dress, the belt, the hair... Jesse couldn't help but shiver.

"We are all here to follow that vocation," Catherine added, then walked energetically towards her desk and sat down in her chair. "I'm glad you came."

"Yeah well, I didn't have much of a choice, did I?" Jesse asked with a sarcastic undertone.

"Of course you have a choice, Miss Flores. You can leave right now and go away, go home to Australia for instance, forget about it all and never come back. Of course, you'd be wondering for the rest of your days if Judgement Day will still happen and if yes, when? It would probably slowly drive you insane."

Jesse scoffed but didn't reply.

"Or you stay with us," Catherine continued, "throw your skills into our mission to prevent Judgement Day and help us to create a world where biological and artificial life evolves next to each other in mutual understanding, regard and respect."

"That sounds a bit too magniloquent for my taste, to be honest."

"Forgive me, sometimes I tend to talk like I'm in a business presentation. Comes with the job, I suppose. But the undeniable truth is this, Miss Flores: artificial Intelligence already exists. It has already been invented and what has been invented, can't be uninvented again. The thought has been thought, the deed has been done. A.I. is here to stay, as well as all other technological marvels of the last hundred years, including nuclear weapons. All we can do, is making sure the technology is being used properly and wisely."

"What's in it for you?" Jesse asked provocatively. "I can understand the Connors, I can understand Reese, I can understand James Ellison. But what is _your_ motivation, Miss Weaver? What is the motivation of a T-1001 to partake in all this?

"Why, what all living beings want of course, Miss Flores," Catherine replied. "To survive, to thrive and make sure my species will procreate."

 **-0-**

The Central Valley dominates the geographical center of the state of California. It is up to sixty miles wide and stretches approximately four-hundred-and-fifty miles from the south-southeast to the north-northwest. From Bakersfield in the south it runs parallel to the Pacific coast to Redding in the north, covering eleven percent of California's total land area. The Connor team had chosen the Interstate 5 for their drive up to Oregon, which ran along the west side of the huge valley. To its left, the terrain slowly climbed towards the Coast Ranges; the Central Valley was kinda desert-like there. To its right, farms spread out as far as the eye could see. Originally grassland, the valley had been transformed into the largest fruit and vegetable garden in the United States of America by the action of man and the power of modern agricultural technology.

However, the valley wasn't exactly an eye-catcher. The landscape was monotonous and seemingly endless, and you had to be a cyborg to not get bored from driving through it for hours and hours. Derek resorted to sleeping again, Lauren put on her headset and listened to music from her mp3-player while texting with Morris. Charley and Sarah each read a book. John was the only one who constantly stared out of the window, seemingly lost in thought.

Three hours later, they had passed the San Francisco Bay area and reached Sacramento, where they refueled again and stopped for lunch at a diner. They then drove on, still following the I-5 until finally, after another three-and-a-half hours of eventless driving, the Central Valley came to an end and the topography became hillier. When finally the highway snaked through forested hills and led over clear mountain lakes, the mood onboard the two vehicles improved considerably.

They left the Interstate 5 and turned onto the U.S. Route 97 in a town called Weed, which provoked Derek into making unfunny jokes in reminiscence of Cheech & Chong. They stopped again for fuel and paused for a moment to look at the snow-covered Mount Shasta, a 14,179 feet high volcano.

One hour later, they crossed the state border to Oregon and drove through endless forests and high plains. In a town called Bend, they left the Route 97 and went along the Route 20 on the final leg of their trip.

 **-0-**

 **Monday, June 23rd, 2008 – 02:32 p.m.**

 **Downtown Los Angeles**

James Ellison had excused himself, he was needed elsewhere now. Then Catherine Weaver had taken Jesse down to the underground levels and into the sealed-off section they'd named the _"Babylon Labs"_. Here, all the highly classified research happened under an extreme level of security. John Henry was only one part of the R &D that took place here, as Jesse quickly found out. Apparently, Catherine Weaver was about to transfer this area into a kind of weapons and technology laboratory from which a future alliance of humans and machines would be able to benefit. There was little personnel down here, but the people Catherine introduced to her, were highly skilled and highly motivated specialists who knew about the future and Judgement Day, as it seemed. Jesse wondered if they knew what Weaver really was and how the T-1001 had managed to make sure they wouldn't talk about their work to anyone outside the labs.

"You're probably asking yourself how I can be sure that none of them talks to an outsider or sells their knowledge to a competitor?" Catherine asked.

"I didn't know you can read minds," Jesse stated with a frown.

"I can read faces," Catherine replied with a smile.

"Well then, how do you keep all this here contained?"

"Believe it or not but I'm really good with handling my employees. They admire and respect me, especially since I took over the company. Their salaries and the value of their shares have increased constantly. And as a special bonus for my Babylon Labs employees, I provide them with nice houses in gated communities, I cover all costs for necessary medical treatments of any family member and even pay for their children's education. In addition to that, they can always come to me with personal problems, my office door is always open to them. If they need any kind of help, no matter what it is, I'll provide it. No other company pays what I pay, and no other employer gives such high bonuses for good work. Keep your employees happy and they reward you with loyalty. That is the one reason why they won't even think about betraying me or sell their knowledge."

"Do they know what you are?"

"The chief engineer, Mr. Murch, does. I let him in after the drone attack. He took it surprisingly well. James followed him, he got drunk after work but then simply returned sober the next morning. It would have been a shame to lose him, he's my most valuable employee. Murch probably suspected for some time that I wasn't who I pretended to be. The dear Matt Murch, he was good friends with the real Catherine Weaver and her husband, Lachlan Weaver. I guess I couldn't have fooled him forever anyway. But he's the only one who knows about me, and that should be enough for now. Eventually, I'll fill in the rest of the staff down here as well but now isn't the time. So, please be careful what you say, Miss Flores."

Jesse nodded.

"You mentioned your leadership skills were _one_ reason for their loyalty. And the other reason is…?"

"The other reason is Mr. Tuck."

"Pardon me?"

"Justin Tuck was the head of my artificial intelligence department. He openly opposed me when I decided to start the Babylon project. He even insulted me and tried to undermine my authority when talking to other employees."

"What happened to him?"

"The poor man unfortunately fell on a long, protruding nail while inspecting the construction site of his future home. The nail went through his right eye, through his brain and out again at the back of his skull. He was dead immediately."

Jesse scoffed.

"Yeah, right. I bet it was a long and shiny silver _'nail'_ , like the one that killed Petty Officer Goodnow on the 'Jimmy Carter'."

Catherine just smiled.

"After Tuck's death," she continued, "it was revealed that he had planned to quit his job and join the competition because we had _'irreconcilable disagreements'_. According to his employment contract, this meant that any financial support for his family was forfeit. They don't get a pension, have lost their house, their healthcare, and the children had to leave the college because they couldn't pay for it anymore. Tuck's widow now lives on social welfare because, strangely enough, neither she nor her children have managed to find a job anywhere until today. I'm afraid they're in a downwards spiral and will eventually end up homeless on Skid Row."

"What a rotten bit of luck," Jesse said sarcastically.

"Yes, very sad, isn't it?" Catherine asked with a broad smile. "Anyway, ever since that happened, I found that hardly anyone ever contradicts me or talks badly behind my back."

"So… if I should decide to leave the team after I obtained a certain level of knowledge, is it likely I would also _'fall onto a nail'_?"

"Oh no, Miss Flores, what are you thinking? I would leave the details to John, Derek, Sarah, Cameron and Alison, of course. I'm sure they'd come up with a satisfying solution."

Jesse gulped.

"Cheer up," Catherine said friendly, "they'd probably let you go back to Australia. But I promise you that when I'm through with showing you around, you'll agree that there's no need for leaving the team. You have a unique opportunity to do good work for the future of mankind."

Catherine went ahead and they entered a room which she'd opened with her key card.

"What is this?" Jesse asked in awe.

She stared at a huge video wall that showed a satellite map of California and the U.S. west coast. In the middle of the room stood a large desk with smaller monitors and computer keyboards. It looked a bit like a NASA mission control room, only smaller. A male employee sat at the desk and typed something into the computer. He turned around to look at who entered the room.

"This is Matt Murch, the chief engineer of the Babylon Labs," Catherine stated and put a hand on his shoulder. "Matt, this is Miss Jesse Flores, she's a resistance fighter from the year 2027 and will be working with us from now on."

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Flores," Murch said and got up to quickly shook hands with Jesse, then looked at Catherine. "Is there something in particular you want, Miss Weaver? Because the test is about to commence."

"I told you to call me Catherine," she reminded him friendly and sighed, "I prefer to communicate with my leading employees on a first name basis."

"I'm sorry... Catherine. Old habits," Murch replied and Jesse believed he looked a little nervous, which she couldn't blame him for.

"Don't be ashamed to be uneasy in the presence of a liquid metal machine," Jesse said wish a smirk. "You're not the only one."

"I... uh..." was all that Murch uttered and looked at Catherine's hand that was still on his shoulder.

"I already explained to Matt that we're all friends here, man and machine," she stated and smiled warmly, "and that there's nothing for him to fear. I hope that in time, he will overcome his little... reservedness."

"Uh... yeah, sure... I hope so as well. Is there anything I can to for you... Catherine?"

"Oh, no, I'm just showing Miss Flores around. Please continue, Matt."

He nodded, then turned around and concentrated on his computer again.

"I wanted you to be here when we run the first test," Catherine explained.

"A test of what?" Jesse asked.

"As you probably know, we've always had a problem with determining where and when another time traveler, be it a Terminator or a resistance fighter, arrives from the future. So, I set my people on developing a temporal displacement detection system."

"A what?" Jesse asked unbelieving.

Catherine smiled.

"You see," she said, "a time bubble, as it is formed by a time displacement field, has a very unique energy signature. It can easily be misinterpreted as an electrical disturbance or a bolt of lightning but those who know what to look for, will recognize it for what it is. It radiates a special sort of electromagnetic distortion with a unique modulation that can be picked up by radio telescopes. I had the idea almost two years ago, when I visited the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in New Mexico."

Weaver pressed a button on one of the keyboards and the display on the wall changed. It showed a graphic display of the Earth's curvature and space above it.

"One year ago," she continued, "Zeira Corp launched a satellite into space. It was handled very discretely, camouflaged as a communications satellite. However, it really is a small radio telescope, directed not into space but back onto Earth, covering most of the U.S.'s western seaboard from its geo-stationary orbit. Since then it has been monitoring and collecting data. With the help of John Henry, we were able to filter out the interferences and create a software to visualize it. And this is the result."

Catherine Weaver pressed another button and the wall monitor changed to a map of L.A. County. Suddenly, dozens of small red dots appeared all over the city.

"This is a time-lapsed animation, showing all the time bubbles of the last eleven months. We call it an 'event' when a bubble is detected. In the lower right-hand corner is a counter. It says that from the beginning of the recording eleven months ago, there have been 33 events."

Jesse looked at the display in awe.

"This knob here works like a jog dial on an old video machine," Catherine continued while turning it. "You can zoom in and isolate single events."

The screen zoomed in on a single red dot on a highway just outside of downtown L.A. It carried the mark "2007-09-15".

"This event for instance", Weaver continued, "marks the arrival of John, Sarah and Cameron, when they jumped from 1999 to 2007. We know it because they told me the exact date and location."

Jesse stared at the screen open-mouthed.

"It's still pretty much beta," Catherine said, "and so far we only had it running for about eight hours a day. Today's test will show if we can let it run around the clock without any problems as a kind of early warning system. If all works as planned, we'll have a real-time monitoring system of all the time traveling activity in the Western United States, which means we know where and when a potential new threat will arise, and where it goes. The residue of the time displacement's signature remains on those who were in it for about thirty-six hours. After that, the signal residue vanishes. Which means…" she pressed another button and the screen displayed a blue, zig-zagging line on the map, as if a route had been fed into a satellite navigation system, "… we have thirty-six hours to track and find time travelers. This line shows where the Connors and Cameron went within the first one-and-a-half days after their arrival."

Jesse just stood there, mouth agape.

"We hope," Catherine continued, "that from now on this temporal displacement detection system, or TDDS in short, acts as an early warning feature. It alerts us whenever a time bubble is detected by the satellite. We can then track every cyborg or resistance fighter from their moment of arrival - in real-time - until the signal residue vanishes."

Jesse was lost for words. Catherine smiled.

"As you can see, Miss Flores, we don't do things by halves here. We use the resources of Zeira Corp and my knowledge of future technology to give our team the necessary technological edge. More things will follow and all of them will be made available to John Connor. I'm planning on launching more satellites soon, so that we'll have covered all of North America by the end of next year. So, are you still in doubt? Are you on the team now, or would you rather return to Australia and retire?"

Catherine smiled with satisfaction at a speechless Jesse.

 **-0-**

 **Monday, June 23rd, 2008 – 07:44 p.m.**

 **Jefferson, Oregon**

"Here we are," John said and Alison steered the Dodge RAM through the gates with a big metal plate on the side pillar, saying _"Jefferson Lodge"_. The Chevy Suburban with the others on board was close behind them.

"Not bad," Derek stated from the back seat, checking his watch. "We actually made up some time."

"Yes, traffic was light," John agreed.

"What I need now, is a shower."

"Yeah, me too."

They parked outside the house with the front desk, left their cars, stretched their limbs and took deep breaths to enjoy the fresh forest air. They were surrounded by high conifers and an eerie, almost unreal quietness. Only the branches of the trees rustling in the wind and the gurgling of a small river somewhere nearby broke the silence.

"The air here is amazingly clean," Alison declared. "Almost no fine dust pollution."

"But some unfamiliar odors," Cameron added.

"Pine trees," Derek explained. "Nothing beats the scent of a natural forest."

"I'll go fetch the keys," Sarah said.

"Coming with you," John stated, walking behind her, with Derek following close behind.

The others waited outside, still enjoying the soothing effect of the landscape. Such lush nature and dense old forests simply didn't exist in Southern California.

Inside the small reception building, Sarah, John and Derek were greeted by a friendly young woman at the front desk.

"Hi, I'm Stacy. Welcome to Camp Jefferson."

"Hi Stacy," Sarah replied and smiled. "There should be three reservations for Baum. Seven persons and a baby."

"Ah yes," Stacy confirmed after checking her monitor. "You're one of the lucky ones."

"The lucky ones?" Derek enquired.

"Yes, our computer crashed a couple of days ago. Your reservation is among the few that weren't lost. It's good that you booked the cabins so early in the year, I suppose."

The three exchanged a couple of knowing looks.

"Yes, we've always been early bookers," John finally said with a smile.

They filled out the registration forms while Stacy retrieved three key cards and three sheets of paper with a map of the premises. She'd made a cross with her pen on a different cabin on each sheet.

"The dot marks the spot where we are," she explained, using her pen as a pointer, "and in case you want dinner, the restaurant is right here. The kitchen is open until 10 p.m., room service is available 24 hours a day. If you have any requests, just dial 0 on your cabin's phone. Any questions?"

Nobody said a word, so Stacy continued.

"John Baum?"

"That's me," John declared.

"Cabin 11 for three persons," she said, handing him a key and the according map. "And you had explicitly asked not to be disturbed by the cleaning lady, is that right?"

"Uh, yeah.. guess so," John replied a little uncomfortably under the piercing glare of his mother. "We, uh… I mean, my sisters and I like to take care of matters ourselves. Is that a problem?"

"No problem at all. Our bigger cabins are usually used as a vacation home and all have a utility room, a washing machine and a tumble dryer."

John took both the card and the small map. He immediately realized that Cameron and Alison had reserved the cabin that was the most remote and isolated one and couldn't suppress a smile. Sarah didn't miss that as well and gave John an annoyed look. However, before she could say anything, Stacy spoke her name.

"Sarah Baum?"

"Yes?"

"Cabin 5."

Stacy handed her the key card and the small map.

"I suppose you want the full cleaning service?"

"You bet we want," Sarah replied a little harshly.

"And finally, Derek Reese?"

"Yup."

"Cabin 4 for you. Have a nice stay."

The three walked out into the open and joined with the others again.

"Nice place," Charley said. "You have to give the girls credit."

"Oh yeah," Sarah replied sarcastically and looked at Cameron and Alison, "you have to give them credit for booking the cabin for John and themselves that's the most distant and isolated one of them all."

"So," John croaked and cleared his throat, eager to change the topic before it got out of hand, "I suppose we drive to your cabins first, unload the wheel chair and the pram, and then Cam, Alison and I drive on to our place."

No sooner said than done.

The maps were accurately drawn, so finding the cabins was not a problem. Cameron joined Alison and John in the RAM while Derek took the wheel of the Suburban. Cabins 4 and 5 were right next to each other. After they'd unloaded all the luggage for Sarah, Charley, Derek and Lauren, John and the girls set off towards cabin 11, which was about 350 yards down the narrow road and deeper into the forest, directly at the shore of a small lake.

Alison parked the truck next to the cabin and they got out to take a look around. Their home for the next five days was a charming architectural mix of stone house and log cabin. They used the key card to gain access and stood in a large main room that stretched high into the gable of the roof. The room formed the center of the house and contained a large brick fireplace, a cozy sofa corner with leather arm chairs, a marble coffee table, a rustic dining area with a large dining table and last but not least, an eat-in kitchen.

All the supporting walls were made from unchiseled natural stone. Tasteful oil paintings hung on the walls and several large hand-woven carpets were spread over the stone floor, giving the place a very cozy atmosphere. A big flat screen TV was mounted on the wall next to the fireplace and there was a nice multi-channel audio system installed as well. On the massive marble coffee table rested a bowl of fresh fruit, a bottle of champagne in a cooler and three glasses.

"Nice touch," John commented with a big grin. "Only someone _'forgot'_ to tell them we are three teenagers who strictly speaking aren't allowed to drink alcohol yet."

"It might have slipped our mind," Cameron and Alison said in unison and grinned mischievously.

From the large main room, doors led into a left and a right wing of the cabin. On the left was a large bedroom with an adjacent bathroom, on the right a smaller bedroom, also with an adjacent bathroom, as well as a laundry room and the aforementioned utility room. The bathrooms had all the modern amenities, like big, glass-walled shower stalls with several sprinkler modes, and large bath tubs. The larger of the two bathrooms was also equipped with a sauna.

The entire back wall of the cabin, including the main room and the two bedrooms, consisted of a huge glass wall, divided by wooden planks. Large sliding doors made it possible to open up the rooms in their entire width towards a winter garden and a large, wooden terrace with a hot tub and a small plunge pool. The place was completely isolated from the rest of the lodge by a wooden fence and thick hedges. The only visible connection was the driveway, from which nobody was able to peek inside. Behind the terrace was a well-maintained lawn that sloped slightly down to the shore of the lake at which the cabin was situated. A jetty protruded into the water.

When they'd carried all their luggage inside the house, John closed the door behind him. He turned around and saw Alison and Cameron shedding their clothes.

"Wow…" he uttered a little bewildered. "What are you planning to do?"

"New rule," Alison said. "Effective immediately."

"What rule?"

"Within this cabin and its perimeter," Cameron explained, "no clothes are allowed for anyone of the three of us, as long as we're alone."

John just grinned in reply.

"I know already that I'm going to like it here," he said and let his eyes wander over the naked bodies of his two girlfriends.

"Yes. You will," Cameron stated and approached him.

"Very much so," Alison added and mirrored Cameron's motion, putting her hand on John's crotch, "and little John will be happy as well."

"Little John wants to be freed," Cameron said and knelt, unbuckling John's belt.

"I think we won't be having dinner at the restaurant tonight?" John asked as she took his dick into her mouth while Alison pulled his shirt over his head.

"Nope, she said and put her arms around his neck, " you'll have to cope with room service... and us."

 **-0-**

 **Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 – 01:16 a.m.**

 **Downtown Los Angeles**

Catherine Weaver was working late because her appointment with Jesse Flores had lasted longer than expected. Now she needed to catch up – which wasn't a problem for her because she didn't need to sleep. Suddenly, the phone on her desk rang. Frowning, she picked up the receiver.

"Yes?" she spoke into it.

"The TDDS has just sounded an alarm for the first time," the voice of Matt Murch said.

"Where? Here in L.A.?"

"No," Murch replied. "In Oregon."

 **-0-0-0-**

 ** _Author's notes:_**

 ** _\- A very big thank you to all the reviewers._** **_I'm happy to get so much positive feedback._**

 ** _\- In case anybody wonders: The "Jefferson Lodge" doesn't really exist. I made it up but placed it in an area where it could exist._**

 ** _\- I've never been to California or to Oregon. All the information I'm using in my descriptions, is based on information I'm getting from the internet, specifically Wikipedia, Google Earth and Google Street View. If you think I'm wrong about something, please point it out to me and I will make the necessary corrections._**


	18. The Mouse Trap (revised)

**_CHAPTER 18: "THE MOUSE TRAP" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 – 03:16 a.m.**

 **Jefferson Lodge, Oregon**

John was relaxed. No, more than relaxed. He was as comfortable as a human being could be. Fortunately, his mother had refrained from checking on them. Apparently, she had a good idea of what was going on in cabin 11 and felt no desire to see it with her own eyes. He let the evening pass again in front of his eyes with a big grin on his face while he enjoyed the bubbling water of the hot tub on the terrace.

They'd been fooling around for hours, just like all teenagers would in a similar situation. Teenagers who'd broken free of the boundaries of their restrictive homes for the first time, throwing all the rules overboard, enjoying their total privacy completely uninhibited. John felt truly free for the first time in his life, a life that had never been better. And he felt absolutely safe with his lovers, his protectors, who'd do everything to make him comfortable.

They had sex, of course, lots of it. Cameron and Alison were insatiable, that became clear very quickly. John realized for the first time with full clarity that his cyborg sweethearts would never tire, never have enough and never get sore – in contrast to himself. He definitely had to take a break every now and then. His girls reacted with disappointment, but also with understanding, and switched to spoiling him with tenderness and hot kisses all over his body.

John had ordered dinner from the room service when he'd gotten hungry, but his two girlfriends had other ideas, snatched the food and made John lick and nibble it off their bodies. He loved that. Encouraged by his reaction, they'd also used some of the fruit from the fruit bowl, cut it into pieces and made John nibble it from different parts of their body, their mouths and their vaginas. John in return poured the champagne over their bodies and licked it off, sucking it out of their bellybuttons and from their backs.

They'd also run around on the lawn behind the cabin, completely naked, enjoying the warm summer breeze on their skin, secure from prying eyes. And then, they'd jumped into the lake, splashing around in the shallow water like little children. When John finally needed to catch his breath, they sat down on the jetty, watching the sun go down in the west over the distant, snowy volcano peaks that were spread across Oregon from north to south like a string of pearls. John had laid down on his back, with Cameron and Alison lying next to him, meticulously paying attention to keeping as much physical contact with him as possible. For an hour or so, they'd wordlessly watched the daylight being slowly replaced by a clear night sky with its myriads of twinkling stars. The three enjoyed their closeness and the warmth of their bodies.

Then they'd decided to have sex again.

* * *

Now, after 3 o'clock in the morning, the three were resting in the hot tub on the terrace. Thanks to the fact that he'd slept a lot in the car on the rather monotonous trip there, John's inner clock had gotten completely messed up, and he was wide awake while other people slept deeply and firmly at this time of night. But it was all right. He was on vacation and his two lovers didn't need any sleep anyway.

John lay leaning back on Cameron, his head resting between her breasts while Alison had submerged in the water, slowly sucking his cock. They never seemed to be getting enough of spoiling him that way. Talking about oral fixation. For a while, they didn't talk, and the only soundtrack was the constantly bubbling water. Finally, John took a deep breath and sighed.

"Ah, this is the life," he said and reached for the almost empty bottle of champagne, taking a sip directly from it. "I could get used to this."

Cameron fed him a strawberry, which he consumed with relish.

"I surely don't have to point out that you aren't allowed to legally drink alcohol before the age of 21 when your mother isn't around?"

"Yeah, I know, but who cares? Apparently they didn't even think that the three of us could stay here alone without adults..."

"That's a safe guess."

"So what? Technically speaking, I'm lying in a hot tub with two naked two-year-olds... Wait, that doesn't sound right. What I meant to say is, you're even more underaged than I am... I mean..."

Cameron put her hand over his mouth.

"Ssshh," she breathed softly, "you don't have to justify yourself to us. Or do you hear us complaining? I was just pointing out a fact."

John looked up at her and smiled, then poured some of the champagne on Cameron's left nipple before slurping it off from there.

"I didn't get much of the champagne anyway," he said, "two glasses tops. The rest has seeped into the lawn. I don't feel drunk or something. By the way, have I told you how much I love you today?"

"Four times since midnight," Cameron answered smiling, caressing his chest.

"Not enough," he stated, poured some champagne on her other nipple and sucked it off as well. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, John," Cameron replied and giggled from the tickling sensation she got.

From underwater, Alison raised her arms and formed a heart with her hands. He chuckled.

"I tend to forget how good your hearing is, even with the water between us."

"John?"

"Hm?"

"Do you like our breasts?"

He frowned.

"Of course I like them. I _love_ them. Why do you ask?"

"Don't you think they could be bigger?"

John looked up at Cameron.

"I love them as they are. They're perfect."

"Riley's were a lot bigger, though."

John sighed. Not that again. Then he groaned because he couldn't hold back any longer. Underwater, Alison swallowed his load.

"Yeah, Riley had bigger tits," he said. "So what? What are you getting at, Cam?"

"I just wanna make sure we're not too... underdeveloped for you. We'd like to be perfect for you."

He turned around and started fondling her breasts, licking and kissing them. Cameron moaned and her nipples became hard under John's mouth and tongue. Alison resurfaced and began kissing his back while stroking his buttocks.

"You are perfect to me," John stated. "There's nothing I would wanna change about your bodies."

"You know... if you want them to be bigger, there surely would be a solution for that," Alison said.

John groaned and rolled his eyes.

"I don't wanna hear about that anymore, especially not in such a nice moment. I love you both the way you are, I love your breasts. End of discussion. Don't ever think of changing anything about them, okay?"

"Are you sure, John?" Cameron asked with a frown. "Your pulse elevated a bit when Alison mentioned we could make them bigger."

"That's just a male reflex," he replied a little annoyed, "I'm one-hundred percent sure. Your boobs may not be very large, but they fill my hands and I have four tits to play with, not just two."

He sat up and kneaded their breasts with his hands, teasing their hard nipples with his thumbs. They both smiled and leaned into him for a kiss. First Alison kissed him, then Cameron. Slowly, John's hands wandered down between their thighs, causing them to moan into his mouth as they spread their legs, willfully granting him more access to their most private parts. John pushed his fingers inside. Then Alison broke her kiss and looked at him.

"What about our butts? she asked.

"What!?" John asked flabbergasted.

"Do you like our butts?"

"Yes, and our pussies?" Cameron added, "do you like our pussies?"

"What about our legs?"

John chuckled.

"Are you kidding me or are you fishing for compliments?"

"Maybe both...?" Alison said and winked at him.

"I _adore_ your butts," he stated with a grin, "I _worship_ your pussy, okay? And I absolutely _love_ your legs."

"What about...?" Cameron started asking but then hesitated and frowned. "John, your phone is ringing."

"What? I don't hear anything," he replied. "And who can it be at this time of night?"

"I'll get it for you," Alison said, stood up and walked inside the cabin to fetch the cellphone from the bedside table.

John sighed in relief. _Thank God, who knows where that conversation would have let to?_

"Just when it was about to get interesting," Cameron confirmed his worst fears with a smirk. "We were about to ask you about every tiny detail of our bodies and how you like them."

"I guess I was saved by the bell then... As I've mentioned already, you two are evil."

They both chuckled. After a moment, Alison came back and sat down in the hot tub again, holding out John's cellphone to him.

"Who is it?" he asked has he took it.

"Catherine Weaver. She says it's urgent."

John sighed.

"What does she want? We've only just arrived."

He put the call on speaker.

"Catherine?"

 _"Hello John. Not asleep, I presume? Do I hear bubbling water?"_

"Uh... yes... hot tub. I, uh... slept too much during the day. What about you? Working late?"

 _"In a manner of speaking. Listen, there's something I need to tell you, something you should be aware of."_

"Oh?"

 _"I just wanted to inform you that two hours ago, a time bubble has appeared forty-two miles northwest of your position."_

"What? Forty-two...? How do _you_ know about that?"

" _The TDDS has picked it up when it formed."_

"The what?"

Catherine gave him a quick summary about the TDDS and what it's supposed to do.

"Wow," was all John could say when she'd ended. "That is definitely an improvement. You're full of surprises, Catherine. I'm starting to really like your resources."

 _"They're your resources as well now, John. Zeira Corp should give us at least some advantages, don't you think? Otherwise there wouldn't be a point for me to run such a large company."_

"Indeed. So, what more can you tell us?"

 _"Not much yet. The bubble formed forty-two miles northwest of you, on a hilltop in the middle of the forest. There are several houses about four miles south of the spot, where clothes and transportation can be obtained. The targets have moved there and split up. Apparently, it's three individuals."_

"Three? You better be careful. If they're Terminators..."

" _Don't worry about me, I could handle three Triple-Eights without breaking into sweat."_

"If you say so…"

" _The nearest settlement is a town called Gates, twelve miles south of where the event happened. Two of the targets have been moving towards Gates, probably in a stolen car. I should arrive there as well in a bit over two hours."_

"What? Where are you?"

 _"Onboard my private helicopter. It's a prototype with a traveling speed of 220 miles per hour. I'll land at Davis Airport, one mile south of Gates. I made sure a rental car will be waiting there for me. We cannot say yet if we're dealing with humans or machines. But we can track them for 36 hours. Enough time to intercept all three of them."_

"I guess we can be there in an hour or so if we depart now."

 _"That won't be necessary, John. This is just an informational call. You don't need to tell the others either. Enjoy your holiday. I'll keep you informed and will contact you again, should I require your assistance, or should the targets suddenly move into your direction."_

"Very well, as you wish."

 _"Talk to you later, John."_

"Yeah, talk to you later."

John ended the call and put the phone down.

"Very strange that the bubble formed in the wilderness of Oregon," he said, "Do you know any resistance fighters from this area?"

"A few," Alison replied, "but none of them came from where the bubble formed or even the wider vicinity. On first glance, it doesn't make any sense to teleport someone into the middle of a forest. Normally time bubbles are being aimed as close as possible to their targets, and near settlements where the time travelers can acquire clothes, weapons and transportation."

"Hmmm… I guess I'll inform the others at breakfast. Catherine can surely take care of herself."

"So… you don't believe that we might be the target?" Cameron asked.

"Wouldn't make any sense to teleport someone forty-two miles from here, would it? There have to better spots nearby."

"It's also quite far away from any of the future battlefields," Alison pondered. "Even after Judgement Day, this region is rather unaffected by the war. Well, all cities were destroyed of course, but there were no bombs thrown over the wilderness. Skynet concentrated on wiping out human settlements. Small villages or towns were sometimes spared from destruction. Which doesn't mean much because they still suffered the consequences from the fallout and the nuclear winter."

"Anyway…" John said and stretched. "I suggest we continue our _'nude holidays'_ until we know more."

"Maybe you should try to get some sleep," Cameron suggested.

"Yeah, maybe... it has become colder out here," he agreed and stretched his arms, "what do you think of starting a fire inside?"

* * *

"I really wish I could spend the rest of my life like this," John sighed as he sat on the sofa, staring into the crackling fire inside the open fireplace while his two naked lovers had cuddled up to him.

"At least we can spend one week like this," Alison said.

"You mean completely naked?" John asked. "That wouldn't go down well with mom."

"As you said when we first met, John," Cameron replied, "your mother is kinda uptight. And clothes are so overrated."

"Yeah, this family needs to loosen up a bit," Alison agreed.

John chuckled.

"I've had a feeling that at the bottom of your heart, you're completely unashamed nudists."

"Well, clothes don't make much sense from our point of view," Alison stated. "We don't need them to stay warm, for example. The cold cannot harm us. I have to admit that clothes offer good camouflage, though."

"In general, clothes are a necessity for us, so we can fit in with humans," Cameron added. "However, shame and inhibitions are an alien concept to us. Although I have to admit I've grown attached to some pieces of clothing I have obtained in my time here."

"Leather jacket?" John asked.

"Leather jacket," the two confirmed in unison.

They laughed, then stared into the open fire again. The soothing effect of the crackling logs worked its magic and soon John had fallen asleep on the sofa. He sunk to the side, where Alison gently caught him and rested his head on her thighs. Cameron carefully lifted his legs and put them over her thighs as well. That way John was conveniently resting on both his girlfriends' laps while they kept staring into the roaring fire, transfixed by the flames.

* * *

"JOHN!"

"WAKE UP, JOHN!"

John stirred.

"Wha…?"

"A time bubble is about to form outside!" Alison exclaimed in an alarmed tone.

"You need to wake up. NOW!" Cameron added fiercely.

John jerked up.

"Okay, I'm awake, I'm awake," he said and rubbed his eyes. "What's going on? What hour is it?"

Instead of answering him, Alison and Cameron jumped up from the sofa and lunged for their Anti Terminator Guns. Outside, it was already dawning. It couldn't be much later than 4:30 in the morning

"There!" Cameron exclaimed and pointed outside. "Stay behind the sofa, John, we'll take care of it."

Still dazed by the sudden awakening, John stared at the lawn behind the cabin and saw twitching blue flashes and a forming time bubble near the lakeshore.

"Stay hidden, John!" Alison ordered. "Head down!"

While the bubble vanished in a loud _WOOOSH_ , Cameron and Alison ran outside and pointed their ATG's at the spot. John couldn't resist and peeked from behind the couch. Hunched down on the scorched grass was a naked male figure that slowly straightened up. Then suddenly, it buckled again.

"ARRGH! That hurt!" the man groaned, looking up at Cameron and Alison who both stood ten feet away from him, with their guns pointed at his head. "WHOA! Don't point those things at me, okay? Oh jeez… you're naked."

The man covered his eyes. Cameron and Alison looked at each other and hesitated.

"Morris?" Alison asked in surprise.

Cameron scanned the man. It was indeed Morris, though a lot older and his body was covered in scars, some small ones, some bigger. He still wore his hair the same way, but it had started greying in certain areas.

"Who is it?" John called from the terrace.

"It's Morris," Cameron replied and the two lowered their guns.

"What!?" John exclaimed.

He walked towards them and soon he got close enough to recognize the man's face.

"Hey buddy," Morris said and waved his hand shyly, trying not to look at the girls. "Not the way I imagined seeing you here, with you all being naked. I always thought these stories about your passion for nudism were exaggerated, but…"

It quickly made 'click' in John's head and he groaned.

"What year?"

"2030," Morris replied. "Hey, would you mind if we went inside and put some clothes on?"

"Yes, we would mind," Alison said and tilted her head.

"What?" Morris asked perplexed.

"New rule, no clothes allowed here," Cameron added with a blank face.

For a moment, John wasn't sure if the girls were serious or not, then both smiled and started laughing. John joined into the laughter as well, leaving a sheepish-looking Morris wondering if he somehow missed the punchline.

"Alright, come in," John said. "Let's see if some of my clothes fit you."

* * *

"We need to depart immediately", Morris stated while they were getting dressed. "The success of Saturday's attack on Skynet depends on it."

"Depart?" John asked. "Where to?"

"Did you get a call from Catherine where she said she was coming to Oregon?" Morris asked.

"Yes, about two hours ago. Why?"

"We need to rescue her, she's in grave danger. If we don't save her, the Grays will attack Zeira Corp and destroy John Henry."

"Wait. What? Save her? From who?"

"Skynet knows Catherine will be here today and sent three Triple-Eights back in time to take her out of the picture."

"How can Skynet know where she is?" Cameron asked.

"Police reports, eye witnesses, a rental bill and a flight plan from Los Angeles to Gates, Oregon. She's walking into a trap."

"What kind of trap could harm a T-1001?" Cameron asked with a puzzled face.

"I'll explain on the way, okay? We need to hurry!"

Suddenly, John's phone rang. He didn't recognize the number and put the call on speaker.

"Yes?"

" _John Connor?"_ a male voice asked.

"Yes, who's there?"

" _Oh thank God. My name's Murch, Matt Murch. I'm an employee of Miss Wea… Catherine. I can't reach her on the phone, but John Henry had your number and told me to contact you."_

"We cannot reach her either. Is that why you called?"

" _What? No, no, no, I wanted to check if you're alright. We detected a time displacement field at your position."_

"Yes, you're right. But thankfully it was a friend from the future," John said and looked at Morris. "He's come to warn us, we're just about to leave in search of Catherine. She might be walking into a trap."

" _A trap?"_

"Yes, listen. Can we talk later, we're kind of in a hurry here."

" _Oh… yes… yes, of course. Please inform me about the status quo as soon as you can, will you?"_

"Will do." He ended the call and looked at his friends. "Okay, let's go."

 **-0-**

They backed the RAM out of the driveway of cabin 11. Cameron drove, John sat in the passenger seat and Alison in the back, together with Morris.

"So, in the future Skynet knows that Catherine is here today," John summarized, "in fact, Skynet made sure the TDDS detected the time bubble, raising an alarm that made Catherine come here to check it out."

"Yes," Morris confirmed.

"Then Skynet knows about the satellite," Alison concluded. "How did it learn about it?"

"Kaliba had an informant inside Zeira Corp," Morris explained, "A man called Justin Tuck. He was paid to deliver information about Catherine's activities."

"What?" John asked surprised. "But we thought that Kaliba and the Grays don't know about her role. Jacobson knows that Zeira Corp is behind John Henry but Alison kidnapped him, he's our prisoner. And she stayed ten days in the future to identify everyone who knew about that well. She then killed those people after traveling back in time. And nobody, not even Jacobson, knows Catherine's true identity. The pre-Skynet A.I., who launched the drone attack on her office, might know now... but it's cut off and isolated from the outside world."

"You're right, Kaliba and the remaining Grays in their ranks have no clue about all that. It was a coincidence that set them onto Zeira Corp, John, it was plain and simple industrial espionage. Kaliba and the Grays knew that Zeira Corp was interested in buying Simdyne. They couldn't allow that to happen and were trying to come up with defensive measures. That's why they started surveilling Catherine and the company. Justin Tuck and Catherine Weaver didn't get along very well, so Kaliba approached and hired him to spy for them. But they never realized what those satellites are supposed to do, and Justin Tuck died before he could find out. Skynet, however, was able to put the pieces together after Judgement Day and understood it was a time bubble detection system. So, it decided to use it against Catherine. And Skynet will be successful if we can't prevent it."

"So... what you're saying is we're still safe from them? Kaliba and the Grays still know nothing of us, John Henry and that Catherine is a T-1001?"

"For now," Morris replied. "But that will change very quickly if Catherine dies. Right now, Kaliba and the Grays are oblivious to the existence of your team and about Catherine's true nature. Right now, they only know Zeira Corp as an aggressive competitor they want to get rid of. And if we succeed, it'll remain that way and you'll have an opportunity to change history. However, if we fail to save her, the Grays will quickly receive information where to find you and John Henry, forcing you into hiding again."

John gulped as he became aware of the scale of the consequences this morning could have if they failed.

"The Triple-Eights' first action was probably to take out the mobile phone reception," Cameron said. "Cutting off communication is a standard move."

"Yes," John agreed nodding. "Cromartie pulled the same trick on mom and Derek once and as a result, Charley's wife died."

"That might be the reason why they teleported onto a hilltop in the middle of nowhere," Alison concluded. "There probably was a cell tower there which they sabotaged. Without a phone signal, Catherine can't be warned."

"Yes, that's a logical assumption," Morris agreed.

John hesitated for a moment, then couldn't contain himself any longer.

"Are we going to survive?" he asked, "I mean, all of us?"

"You and your family will be okay, John," Morris replied a little uncomfortably. "But please, don't ask any further. Too much knowledge can damage your cause. I don't want to lead you into making the wrong decisions."

"But your presence here is already changing the timeline again, isn't it?"

Morris nodded.

"It is… but there are things you mustn't know… at least not yet. Please, John, trust me on this, okay?"

John looked at him for a moment, then nodded.

"All right, buddy. I will trust you. But are you sure we shouldn't wake up the others?"

"Yes," Morris said. "It's best to let them sleep. Waking them up would take too much time. Every minute counts now. Besides, the less people are involved, the better."

"Then why didn't you teleport directly to Gates with a bunch of resistance fighters?"

"Things weren't going well for us, John. There's hardly anyone left where I come from. Skynet has a new weapon; a new series of Terminators, and they've had a devastating effect on the resistance, destroyed our defenses in no time. When I left, Future you and your command staff were preparing to abandon headquarters. Cameron had just returned from a reconnaissance mission where she learned about the fact that three Triple-Eights had been sent back in time to kill Catherine. I volunteered to go back in time as well to try and prevent it. I'm not much of a fighter, to be honest. I've always been a geek. Also, Cam and Alison have those ATG's. I guess they'll come in handy. As you know very well, you can't bring any weapons with you when you travel through time."

"Yes, only stuff covered in a bio-electric field can go through, I know," John said.

"We can also use you as a diversion," Morris added, "John Connor is still their prime target and they'll immediately switch to hunting you if they recognize who you are."

"We will _not_ let John play the decoy for three Triple-Eights!" Cameron stated resolutely.

"Not even for one!" Alison added, glaring at Morris with red-glowing eyes.

"I think what Morris meant," John said to calm them down, "is that I can be a distraction to make them stop and reconsider while you can take them out, right?"

"Uh… yes, right." Morris confirmed, a little taken aback by the fierce reaction of the girls.

* * *

Cameron drove fast, very fast. A lot faster than allowed, scanning the road ahead for any hidden law enforcement vehicles. But thankfully, there were none.

"So… I guess that means that in your timeline, we still couldn't prevent Judgement Day," John concluded and looked at Morris, who still looked mostly like the young Morris he knew, but somehow more battle-hardened.

"No, obviously not," he replied. "But it got postponed again until August 31st, 2015."

"What went wrong?" Alison asked.

"Well… if Catherine is killed today, it will steer this timeline into the direction I already know, into the future I come from. Kaliba and the Grays will attack Zeira Corp on Friday. Security there won't have a chance. John Henry will be destroyed, James Ellison and Matt Murch killed. Your team won't be able to get there in time because you're still on your way back from Oregon. You will still attack Simdyne on Saturday, though – but it will be too late."

"Why?" John asked.

"The Grays will free Adam Jacobson during the attack, he'll tell them about you and your safe house. He'll then end Skynet's isolation in the bunker, enabling it to transfer its core functions to a computer center in Nevada, where the Air Force has been building a backup system."

"I thought that backup system isn't ready yet," John said in a suddenly alarmed tone.

"It isn't," Morris replied, "At least not completely. They're working on it at full speed, though. By Saturday, they'll have a big enough backup network running, ready to store Skynet's primary functions, including the system core. All they need for it to go active, is Jacobsen. Only he can re-establish the connections in the bunker below the Simdyne Tower. In the timeline I came from - with Catherine dead, John Henry destroyed and Jacobsen freed - Skynet had already been moved out of the Simdyne building when you attacked it."

"I see... But what I don't understand, is how the Grays could know about John Henry's location? I mean, they obviously know about his _existence._ Well.. Jacobsen at least does. But Jacobsen is a prisoner inside the Zeira Corp building and can't communicate with Kaliba or his fellow Grays. So, how did they learn that they need to attack Zeira Corp?"

"Catherine's daughter, Savannah," Morris replied grimly. "After her mother's death, a Kaliba team will capture her in Catherine's house on Thursday. They'll learn everything about John Henry from her. The girl will be found later in one of L.A.'s storm drains, left to die. Fortunately, a couple of homeless people will find her and bring her to hospital."

John closed his eyes, took in a deep breath and sighed.

"We need to rescue Catherine at any cost," he said. "She's essential to our plan to stop Judgement Day forever. Tell me, Morris, what happened in your timeline after we failed the first time? What led up to Judgement Day?"

"Well, Skynet made itself known to the Air Force and the government. The Joint Chiefs of Staff decided that this A.I. is a welcome addition to the national defense grid, and that it can provide help in developing a missile shield for America and its allies. The President will agree. They will all involuntarily become Skynet's accomplices in bringing on the end of the world."

John chuffed.

"Idiots."

"The rest is pretty much the same as always. It'll go through the media six months prior to activation, the Air Force will realize too late that Skynet has taken over their systems, they will try to shut it down, Skynet will feel threatened and start a nuclear holocaust. We all go into hiding, fight for our lives, you form the resistance, Skynet develops time-traveling, yadda, yadda, yadda."

"And you have become a soldier?" John asked, looking at Morris.

"Me? Nah, I am…" he hesitated, "I _was_ the leader of your computer team. You know, reprogramming cyborgs and stuff. As long as that still worked, at least. Skynet developed countermeasures to prevent you from reprogramming. We eventually couldn't overcome those anymore."

"That doesn't sound good."

"And it wasn't, believe me."

"Are you aware that you're about to destroy your own timeline and can't ever go back?" Alison asked.

"Yes but… I was hoping to see Lauren again. And maybe I can be an asset in the upcoming fight. To be honest, it didn't look good when I left, Skynet had almost won. It simply knew too much of you, John, and your abilities."

"What happened to Lauren in your time?" Cameron asked.

"She died two years ago in an HK attack. I mean, two years ago where I come from."

Alison looked at Morris and gently took his hand, smiling sadly.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Morris pressed his lips together and nodded, thankfully accepting her gesture of sympathy. For a while, nobody talked.

"So, how will the Triple-Eights be able to destroy Catherine?" John asked. "Normally she should be able to easily overcome three of those."

"Yes," Morris agreed. "But those Triple-Eights aren't planning on attacking her. They will lure her inside a bunker and then lock her up inside while setting the whole place on fire with thermite. She won't be able to escape from there."

All three of them looked at Morris in shock.

"Cam, can you go even faster?" John asked.

 **-0-**

At the same time, Catherine Weaver sat in a rental car she had organized from L.A. before she'd taken off in her helicopter. It had been delivered to the Gates airfield. She'd tried to avoid the people there as much as possible without being rude. Naturally, they were curious about the reason for her sudden appearance. She simply said she was scouting for a location for a weekend house and that seemed to have satisfied them for the moment.

Catherine checked the traces of the three cyborgs on her laptop, which she had placed on the passenger seat. It was a direct link to the TDDS satellite. Unfortunately she couldn't use her cellphone because it had no signal. So, she wasn't able to contact anyone. It was all up to her now, as it seemed. She had quickly realized that the three arrivals from the future were moving too fast and systematically for humans, so it had to be cyborgs. Three of them. What the hell was Skynet up to here, in this insignificant part of the country, thirty-two miles away from the next bigger city?

The three cyborgs remained together until four hours after their arrival. Apparently, they'd scouted out a house in a remote settlement in the woods, broke in, got clothes, possibly killed the inhabitants and then went separate ways. Normally the next step for a terminator would be obtaining weapons. Two of the three went into the neighboring town in a stolen car, stopping at what looked like a shopping center, then for some unknown reason drove on to what appeared to be a factory dealing with wood, while the third one remained at the house they'd broken in, barely moving.

If they continued to be separated, Catherine would have to think about who to follow. What could be their mission? There was no known target here, no known future resistance fighter, no important facility or industrial site. Just endless forests in a hilly landscape. The Connor team was in a lodge forty miles away and the three cyborgs seemed to have no intention of getting there. At least not yet.

Catherine had parked her car on an unpaved forest road eight miles north of the town of Gates, hiding it behind some timber that had been stacked there. The house where the three cyborgs had obviously broken into, was only a hundred yards away. She couldn't see it from her position and her scanners couldn't penetrate the trees but at least the cyborgs wouldn't be able to do so either. As she looked at her laptop, it seemed the other two were finished with whatever they had done and now returned to the house.

 **-0-**

Cameron drove as fast as possible on those roads, substantially violating the speed limit. Thankfully, at 5:30 in the morning the roads were deserted.

"How long until we get there?" John asked again.

"Four minutes to Gates, then another eight miles north. I'd say seventeen minutes." Cameron answered.

"Are you sure about the location, Morris?" John asked.

"Positive. It belongs to a prepper who built some kind of bunker on his property. Concrete walls, steel door, the whole package."

"A prepper?" Alison asked.

"Yeah, somebody who fears the end of the world and is preparing for it. You know, stockpiling food, survival training… .People think preppers are batshit crazy – at least for now. That will change in a couple of years, of course."

"How do you know so much about this?" John asked.

"Because it was all over the news. Well, that is… it will be, if we don't prevent it. The bunker burned on the inside like a kiln, threatening to set the forest on fire. Someone had killed the prepper and his wife and apparently used their pickup truck for a burglary at a local gun shop. They also stole a hundred kilograms of thermite from a railway storage near a plywood plant in the neighboring town, which was why the fire got so hot. Add the fact that Catherine Weaver is one of the best-known business leaders in the country and that she disappeared without a trace after suddenly appearing there in her helicopter..."

"Let's hope we're not already too late," John said.

 **-0-**

It had been twenty minutes since the other two cyborgs had returned to the house. Catherine couldn't see what they were doing, the trees blocked her view and the tracking on her laptop was still too inaccurate. The three dots appeared as one. She made a mental note to increase the resolution of the TDDS as soon as she got back to L.A.

She changed into the shape of the guy from the rental company who'd handed her the keys, slipped out of the car and casually strolled towards the house. It was astonishingly quiet. The only sound came from the birds, there was no background noise like from the traffic in Los Angeles. The silence of the woods was rather soothing and comforting. _"Maybe I should really get a weekend house here someday"_ , she thought.

When she reached the fence of the property, she scanned the area. Nothing. There were several buildings on the clearing in front of her. The residential house, a barn and something that looked like… a bunker? She had seen similar structures - if considerably bigger - on a military air field before: A concrete block with a thick steel door next to the runway. Who in their right mind would build such a bunker out here in the wilderness? And why?

Catherine decided to investigate and closed in on the bunker. The door was open. Still no sign of the cyborgs. She heard a car coming up the road.

 **-0-**

Cameron brought the RAM to a sudden halt.

"There," she said and pointed into a forest road that branched off the tarmac road in a ninety-degree angle. "Behind the logs."

"That's Catherine's rental," Morris stated. "Park the behind it, Cam."

She steered the pickup truck into the forest road, made a U-turn and parked right behind the rental. Alison had loaded both ATG's on their way and handed one to Cameron now. Then the four of them left the car, heading towards the property with the bunker.

"Stay close behind us," Alison said. "No need for you to get into the line of fire."

"You don't say," Morris remarked.

They carefully approached the property and took cover behind a fallen tree, from where they had an unobstructed view on the bunker. They saw that a man in a suit was just about to enter it.

 **-0-**

Catherine peeked inside the bunker. It was dark and consisted of several rooms. The thick walls prevented scanning and since she hadn't been able to find anything on the outside, she carefully stepped inside. The floor was littered with a white powder. She quickly analyzed it. Thermite! She whirled around and stared into the red-glowing eyes of a Triple-Eight. He pushed her hard and she stumbled backwards before she could react. He was about to shut the door!

Catherine darted forward, pressing against the door with all of her power. But the Triple-Eight was heavier and more powerful than her. In a desperate effort, she turned into her silvery protoform and tried to push herself through the rapidly closing door gap. But the Triple-Eight fired a shotgun at her, causing her to tumble back into the bunker.

She heard someone shout her name in the distance. She analyzed the voice… Morris? How had he gotten here? With a loud BANG, the door was smashed into its frame. Then it was locked from the outside, and the sound of twisted metal told her that the mechanism was being bent to prevent Catherine from escaping.

She was trapped.

 **-0-**

"Triple-Eight!" Cameron said.

A large male figure came walking around the corner just as Catherine had entered the bunker.

"CATHERINE! CATHERINE WEAVER!" Morris shouted, having jumped up to call her name, but the Triple-Eight was already closing the door.

"Morris!" John exclaimed sharply and pulled him down again.

At the same moment, a barrage of gunfire from automatic weapons went into the log they hid behind and the bushes all around them. Two more Triple-Eights had appeared from behind the bunker and had opened fire on them. The first one had stopped firing and pulled out something that looked like a remote control.

"Take him out!" John ordered, and Cameron targeted her gun at the Terminator with the remote.

A red dot from the laser appeared on his head. The bang was so loud that immediately John's and Morris' ears started ringing. It echoed through the forest like a small explosion. The first shot missed its target by an inch and embedded itself into the wall of the bunker, where it literally blew a hole into the concrete as big as a basketball.

Cameron re-adjusted her servos and targeted again, while the other two Triple-Eights were closing in, still firing at them. John and Morris had ducked down deeply and covered their ears. The Triple Eight with the remote was distracted for a moment by the shot that had just missed him, and he looked in Cameron's direction. He put his finger on the button of the remote, ready to press it – and then his head exploded like a firecracker. The remote fell into the grass while his body sank lifeless to the ground. Cameron's second shot had been a bullseye.

Bits and pieces of the Terminator's skull flew through the yard and landed shortly in front of the log behind which John and Morris had sought cover. The other two Triple-Eights had just reloaded their guns and were ready to open fire again when they noticed what had happened to their companion. They saw his headless body sink to the ground, the remote slipping from his fingers. Cameron told Alison how to adjust her servos and then both stood up and targeted the other two terminators.

The two Triple-Eights looked down on their chests and saw red laser dots on them. Before they could react, Alison and Cameron fired two more rounds of the anti-terminator ammunition, which exploded in the Triple-Eights' chests, obliterating everything behind their breast armor, cutting off the power to their heads. Both exchanged what seemed like a confused look, then sank lifeless to the ground.

"Woohoo," John shouted. "These guns really rock. Christ, I'm deaf now… but they definitely rock!"

Cameron and Alison walked towards the fallen Terminators, pointing their guns on them, making sure they were dead.

"I better remove their chips," Cameron said and knelt, pulling out her pocketknife. "And we should pick up all the bits and pieces as well."

Alison walked towards the bunker door and tried to pull it open. But the steel was bent, and she was having difficulties unbending it again. Suddenly a push from the inside helped her and the door sprung open. Catherine Weaver stepped out, again in her white business dress and high heels, and demonstratively stroked the dust off her outfit.

"I'd say that was close," she stated, looked around and smiled. "Just in time. Good job everyone."

John was about to jump up and join the girls, when Morris called from behind in a strangely weak tone.

"John…"

He whirled around and saw that Morris held his hand over his belly, dark blood pouring out of it.

"Oh no," he exclaimed and sunk down next to Morris, desperately trying to think of something to do. "Alison! Cam! Come here! Quick!"

Both girls turned around, seeing John on his knees. Shock rose to their faces and they immediately sprinted towards him.

"John!" Cameron shouted. "Are you all right?"

"I'm all right, I'm all right. But Morris kinda… isn't."

Alison knelt down beneath him and slowly took Morris' hand from his belly.

"It's bad, isn't it?" he asked in a shaky voice, taking short breaths. "It burns like hell, I can tell you."

"The bullet hit your stomach," she said calmly.

"Oh shit," Morris replied and closed his eyes.

"Wha… what does that mean?" John asked. "Is he going to be alright?"

Cameron gently touched John's arm and he stood up, looking at her.

"If we were in a hospital, he'd have a good chance," she explained in a very calm but compassionate tone. "But out here…"

"There has to be something we can do!" John insisted. "Can't you remove the bullet?"

"That would only kill him faster," Catherine said who had also approached them and looked down on Morris. "You're from the future. I suppose you led John and the girls here. Which means I owe you my life."

Morris just nodded.

"He maybe has fifteen or twenty minutes, John." Cameron explained quietly, so only he could hear it. "The gastric acid is seeping into his thoracic cavity, poisoning him from the inside. There's nothing we can do for him."

John closed his eyes. The drive into town would take fifteen minutes alone.

"John," Morris said, "You don't have to whisper, I know what's going on. I saw people die from similar wounds. Takes agonizing twenty minutes or so. Can you deliver a message to Lauren from me?"

"Sure, buddy," John answered and knelt again. "What is it?"

"Tell her to hold on. And tell her that whatever I say or do in the future, I will never stop loving her."

"Okay, I… I will tell her." John said, grabbing his hand.

"And I have a message for the two of you as well," Morris continued, looking at Cameron and Alison.

They stared at him in bewilderment.

"For us?" Cameron asked.

"From who?" Alison added.

"From Alison Young. She asked me to tell you that she knows what you have done in another timeline, and that she's forgiven you."

Alison and Cameron looked at each other, trying to understand.

"John adopted her," Morris explained between short breaths that became more and more rapid. "When she grew up and joined the resistance… it became clear to her that you had been shaped in her image. John explained to her that in an alternative future, she was killed and replaced… by you. She doesn't hold a grudge, she considers you her step parents."

John could see that both Cameron and Alison became misty-eyed.

"And finally," Morris said, "I have a message for you alone, Alison. From Future John. Would you… please leave us alone for… a moment?"

Perplexed at what he had asked of them, they all moved out of earshot, leaving Alison kneeling with Morris. John saw him motioning her to kneel, so she did. Unseen by them, Morris pushed a small, cylindrical-shaped metal tube into her hand. He then whispered something in her ear and after a moment of consideration, Alison nodded and stuffed the tube into her pocket. Then she stood up and joined with John and the others again.

"What did he tell you?" John asked.

"He asked me to hand him my Glock," Alison replied.

They heard a single gunshot from where Morris was.

"NO!" John shouted and ran towards him.

But it was too late. Morris had shot himself in the head.

 **-0-**

They decided it was best to put the three destroyed Triple-Eights into the bunker. Their chips had self-destroyed after they had been removed. Catherine, Alison and Cameron picked up all shrapnel from the exploded head of the first Terminator and the shell cases of their ATG ammo. With a heavy heart they also decided to put Morris' body in the bunker with them. They closed the door and then John pressed the button on the remote he had picked up from the ground.

A subdued _poof_ could be heard from the inside, then smoke began pouring out of the ventilation shafts. On their way back to the cars, Catherine was filled in about what Morris had said.

"I guess this means we're still on schedule," Catherine stated when they had finished.

"Yes, Morris' mission was successful," John confirmed. "Too bad it took his life."

"He isn't dead, John," Alison reminded him. "He is sixteen years old and lives in Van Nuys. Now he won't need to get back in time again. The future he came from, has now ceased to exist."

"I know that," John said. "And it is kinda comforting. But it still feels wrong that he died. He would have deserved to live."

She hugged him tight and Cameron joined into the hug. Catherine watched the three of them with a content smile. As they were about to enter their cars again, Catherine stepped close towards John.

"You have proven to be a reliable ally and a true friend today, John Connor," she stated and then did something nobody would have expected.

She hugged him.

After a moment of hesitation, John hugged her back, feeling a bit awkward.

"Sorry for being so sentimental," Catherine said. "Seems like I have a soft spot for you."

Cameron and Alison frowned and stiffened. Catherine saw it and laughed.

"No need for you to become jealous," she stated. "He'll always be only yours."

Satisfied with her words, both girls relaxed again. John looked at Catherine.

"Morris mentioned that Kaliba will kidnap Savannah from your house this Thursday," John said. "He told us that in _his_ timeline, they learned about John Henry from her before dumping her in a storm drain, hoping she would die there. Obviously you're not dead now, so you can take measures to prevent that."

"Thank you for telling me, John," Catherine replied. "I'll be ready for them. I think it's about time that I personally take care of this dummy company... _'Al-Hazim Im- and Exports',_ which seems to be Kaliba's base of covert operations in Los Angeles."

"What are you planning to do?"

"I'd say our opponents ought to learn that you shouldn't anger the most dangerous being on the planet."

"A T-1001?"

"No, John, A mother defending her child."

* * *

They all said their goodbyes, entered their cars and drove towards Gates again. As they had almost reached the town, a firetruck and a police car came from the opposite direction. Someone obviously had reported the smoke that rose over the trees and maybe also the loud gunshots of the ATG's.

After they had crossed the bridge over the river that ran through Gates, Catherine made a right-turn towards the air field, while John and the girls went straight ahead, back towards their lodge, keeping to the speed limit this time. He sat in the back together with Alison, who held him tenderly in her arms, giving him love and comfort. John took a quick look at the clock. It was almost seven in the morning.

"Well," he said in an absent tone, attempting to ban the thoughts of Morris's death from his conscious mind, "it seems like we'll be back in time for breakfast."

 **-0-0-0-**


	19. Intermezzo (revised)

_**CHAPTER 19: "INTERMEZZO" (revised)**_

* * *

 **Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 – 08:15 a.m.**

 **Jefferson Lodge, Oregon**

After arriving back at the lodge, John took a shower. He informed his girlfriends he wanted to be alone for that. When they asked him if everything was all right, he assured them that he only needed a few minutes on his own to sort his thoughts, so Cameron and Alison respected his request.

After their arrival the previous evening, the family had agreed on meeting at 9 a.m. for breakfast in the restaurant of the lodge. John had decided he wanted to walk there instead of driving, not feeling particularly hungry. Before they'd left the cabin, he had to convince Cameron and Alison to leave their weapons in the safe. The chance of them being attacked during breakfast was negligible. However, the chance that they would cause a mass panic if they entered the dining room heavily armed, was considerably higher. Reluctantly, the two cyborg girls agreed and went unarmed.

John enjoyed the fresh morning air while Alison and Cameron walked beside him, carefully avoiding body contact to not arise any suspicion from other guests. Officially, they were siblings after all, an arrangement John regretted to have agreed to for the nth time.

"Who got that stupid idea in the first place?" he grumbled when they refused to hold his hands as they walked along the narrow road within the lodge.

"If I remember correctly, it was your mother," Alison replied.

"And I believe she did it knowingly, realizing that you had the hots for me," Cameron added.

"Well, it has worked for a time… but now we have to find a way to work around that, haven't we?"

"I agree, John," Alison confirmed, "but we need to plan that carefully. We mustn't force it, or we'll arouse suspicion."

They arrived at the restaurant after a ten-minute walk. It was a modern, cubistic building, situated directly by the lake, with large glass fronts on three sides, offering beautiful views of the fascinating landscape of Oregon. The place was buzzing with activity and they stopped after entering, scanning the room for the others. They quickly located Lauren and Derek who waved at them, sitting at a large table directly at the window, with a great view over the lake. Next to Lauren sat Sydney in a baby chair and was fed by her with pureed baby food. Sarah and Charley weren't there yet.

"Hey, good morning," Lauren welcomed them cheerfully. "How did you sleep, John? The air here is fantastic, I slept like a stone."

"Fine, fine," John replied a little absentmindedly.

"You should go and check out the buffet, it's fantastic."

"Uh… yeah, I will."

Derek looked at him and frowned.

"Something wrong, nephew?"

"No, not really. There was a… situation but it got solved. I'll tell you when mom and Charley have joined us."

Although not satisfied with John's answer, Derek picked up a local newspaper and disappeared behind it, as usual. Lauren's phone chimed, and she looked down at it for a few moments, obviously receiving a text message and typing something in reply.

"Morris sends his greetings," she said. "The police has finally made the connection and returned the safe and its contents to them. The case is closed, and all is fine. House is being repaired as we speak, should be finished by tomorrow."

John nodded.

"That's good news," he agreed, "please return the greets, will you?"

Lauren typed something on her phone, then looked up at John.

"Done." She looked at Cameron, then at Alison, then back at John. "Man, is something bugging you? The three of you look like you just returned from a funeral."

John rubbed his eyes.

"No, everything's fine," he replied. "Really… No need to worry. I… slept only for two hours or so."

"Yeah, I guess we all have to deal with a messed up inner clock. Ah, finally. Sarah and Charley. And they're holding hands. Look."

John and the girls turned around and indeed his mother and Charley entered the restaurant, seemingly completely relaxed. He hadn't seen his mom so happy in many months. At least for them the holidays seemed to have worked out so far.

After everyone had said their good mornings, the whole family went to the buffet and returned with heavily laden plates. They ate in silence while the TV on the wall brought the local news. John watched with interest, but the sound was turned so low that he couldn't understand a word that was said.

"Are you looking for anything in particular on the news?" Derek asked with a full mouth, having observed his nephew's behavior.

"Nope," John answered, poking his fork spiritless into his scrambled eggs.

"You need to eat," Alison stated.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," Cameron added.

"Looks like you don't need _me_ anymore to oversee your eating," Sarah commented with a smirk.

"Okay," Derek said and put down his fork. "What's up, John? You've been behaving strangely ever since you entered here."

"John?" Sarah asked worried. "Is everything okay? Are you feeling ill?"

Cameron and Alison looked at John.

"Should we tell them…?" Alison asked.

John nodded relieved.

"Yes. Please. I'm not in the mood right now."

Cameron and Alison took turns in telling the whole story from Catherine Weaver's call in the night until their return half an hour ago. The volume level in the restaurant was so high due to the other guests, playing children and the reverberant character of the dining hall that they didn't have to worry about anyone listening in. The revelation of a time bubble warning system had left everyone flabbergasted for a moment, and when they'd gotten to the part where Future Morris was killed, everyone was shocked, especially Lauren.

"Well, technically he didn't really die," Derek pointed out, "and now he won't. In a way, he saved his own life by getting himself killed."

"That's a rather cynical way of looking at it," Charley said.

Derek shrugged.

"What? It's like with Alison Young. She was dead where I come from but here she's alive and will live, as Future Morris confirmed. She even was adopted by John and the girls after Judgement Day - which by the way is a really nice gesture. Don't let yourself getting worked up on this, John. By coming here, Morris gave the events a turn for the better. His sacrifice was not in vain."

"Did he say anything about what's becoming of Charley and me?" Sarah asked.

"Uh... no, mom," John replied a little uncomfortably, knowing exactly why she asked. "But that doesn't have to mean anything."

"Just asking because he said _you_ adopted Alison Young and not me and Charley - which would be the more logical choice..."

"We don't know anything, Sarah," Alison intervened, "and forgive me for being blunt but speculating about a future that's never going to happen, is rather pointless."

Sarah nodded and took a sip from her cup of coffee.

"Let me get this straight," Charley said. "Alison Young was the girl you two were shaped after, right?"

Cameron and Alison nodded.

"And you killed her in interrogation when you captured her in the future because she had information about Johnny's headquarters?"

They nodded again.

"But in the present, she's just been born and will grow up normally, waiting to be adopted by John and you if Judgement Day still happens."

Another nod.

"And according to Morris, she knew about what had happened to her in another version of the future, but she doesn't care because Cameron is now her stepmother?"

"An accurate summary," Cameron confirmed. "That's what Morris said."

"This is completely fucked up..."

"Time travel does these things, Charley," Alison said. "It can lead to unexpected and sometimes strange results. I mean, look, there are two of me now."

"Or two of me," Cameron corrected. "Depending on the point of view."

They looked and each other and smiled.

"Derek and the girls are right," Lauren stated. "We shouldn't ponder over things that happened in another timeline. Alison Young is alive, and Morris is alive. She's in Palmdale, he's in Van Nuys. I have just texted him a couple of minutes ago. You shouldn't let the death of his future alter ego get to you like that, John."

"I know," he admitted. "It's just that… I can't get the image out of my head of him lying there after taking his own life and..."

"At least we got some valuable intelligence from him," Derek said. "We know that Catherine is on our enemies' radar - but for all the wrong reasons. Boy, I wish I could be there when she pays that im- and export company a visit... And we also know that neither Kaliba nor the Grays or the Air Force are aware of us. I'd say we're in good shape and as long as we maintain our low profile, our attack plan for Saturday is not at risk."

"Correct," Cameron and Alison confirmed in unison.

Sarah had remained remarkably calm the whole time. John had feared an outbreak of accusations about the fact that they'd left in the middle of the night without telling anyone. He kept looking at his mother, but she didn't say a word about that, only looking down on her plate, absentmindedly eating some bacon and eggs. Finally, she looked up.

"You did well, John," she stated and looked at the two cyborg girls. "And you two as well."

"Oh?" John asked surprised.

"We did?" Cameron and Alison asked in unison, apparently being as surprised by the praise as John was.

"Yes," Sarah said, "you showed initiative, you solved the situation without needing any help. You seemed to know what to do and you didn't leave any traces that could lead to us. I'm actually quite proud of you."

"Thanks, mom."

John looked around and saw that Charley was giving him a slight nod with a smile. He concluded that the two must have had a conversation in which Charley had made it clear to his mother that she couldn't always be so lecturing, controlling, and possessive about him, which at times led to barely concealed hysteria. If Charley had that effect on his mother, John had no doubt that they'd all be okay in the future - although he had to admit it wasn't at all his mother's style that she was so quiet and understanding.

"However, John," Sarah interrupted his thoughts in a more resolute voice. "Next time something like that happens, I expect you to inform me, even when it's 5 o'clock in the morning. Is that clear?"

That was more like her.

"Uh, yeah.. Sure, mom. Clear."

"Good," Sarah smiled. "Now what are we going to do today to get that picture of a dying Morris out of your head?"

 **-0-**

Since Lauren was still not fit enough to take part in any physical activities, it was decided to spend the day in the lodge's recreational area. It was situated on the shore of the lake and consisted of tennis courts, a large outdoor swimming pool, a big lawn for sunbathing, ping pong tables and a children's playground. There was also the option to practice fly fishing and angling at the river that flowed through the lodge, and a large wooden building at the edge of the forest contained a bar, pool tables, foosball tables, dartboards and a bowling alley.

Sarah and Charley were keen on playing tennis, Derek expressed his interest in learning fly-fishing while John, Cameron, Alison and Lauren just wanted to laze around on the big lawn by the lakeshore. The four went to their cabins, changed and met again an hour later by the outdoor swimming pool. They chose four sun loungers next to another and started to settle down on them. Baby Sydney was sleeping in her carriage while John and the three girls took off their tee shirts and jeans to reveal swimwear.

Lauren had chosen a one-part swimsuit because it covered her stitched wound. John went for boxer shorts and Cameron and Alison both chose bikinis with a thong that were strapped around their waists. The only pieces of cloth on them were the tiny triangles that covered little more than their crotches and their nipples. They didn't leave much to imagination.

"Whoa, what were you thinking buying those?" John asked under his breath, noticing other people staring in their direction. "Mom's gonna flip when she sees that."

"Maybe... but what is she going to do?" Alison asked. "Rip them off our bodies? I'd like to see her try..."

"You'll be giving every man here a hard-on," John contradicted, "and their wives an angry frown. They might complain about us."

"Relax, John," Lauren said, sitting on her sun lounger, applying sun lotion. "They look sexy as hell. I wish I had their figure. Look at those boys over there, their eyes are totally fixed on them."

"Yes... great. The kind of attention we definitely don't need."

They looked over to a couple of boys in John's age who were playing ping pong. It was undeniable that their concentration on playing had suffered since Alison and Cameron had revealed their skimpy bikinis. John looked at them rather suspiciously.

"Are you jealous, John?" Alison asked with a smirk.

He chose not to reply to that.

"I think he is," Lauren said with a grin.

"You cannot hide us from the world forever, John," Cameron remarked. "We might as well behave like teenagers actually would."

"I think you two look amazing!" Lauren stated.

"Thank you, you're not looking too bad yourself," Alison complimented her.

"Yes," Cameron agreed. "And I like the nail polish on your toe nails. Mind if I borrow it later?"

"Not at all. Will look good on you. Say, do you shave your legs?"

"No, we don't need to. Our bodies don't grow hair in what is widely considered unwelcome areas. So, no hairy legs, no hair in our armpits and only a small landing strip above our pussies."

"Cool... I so wish I could stop my hair growing in those places..."

John decided to disconnect from the conversation and stay out of the girls talk. It was three against one. Inwardly, he was proud of his two girlfriends but he felt a pang of jealousy when he looked at those boys who were openly checking them out. Lauren passed him the sun lotion after she was finished and laid back on her lounger, wearing shades.

"You should put on some lotion as well," he stated while applying it to his legs.

"We don't need sun protection," Cameron replied and laid back on her lounger.

"I know that, but to maintain appearances. You're too pale for lying in the sun without protection for hours. People might start to wonder."

"All right," Alison said, "would you hand us the sun lotion please, Lauren?"

John watched as the two applied the lotion onto their bodies, wishing he would be the one to do that.

"I can apply something to your back, if you let me," Alison suggested, having read his thoughts.

"Sure," John agreed with a smile and turned around onto his belly.

"Ooops, I squeezed too much," she said while applying the lotion to his back and giggled. "Now I also need to apply it to your legs and arms."

John groaned, immediately realizing that Alison hadn't done that accidentally.

"Careful, we're supposed to be brother and sister, remember?" he hissed.

"You should loosen up a bit, _brother_ ," Alison calmed him. "No one's gonna suspect anything."

It was hard for John to not get an erection under Alison's caressing hands but with all the willpower he could muster, he could at least prevent getting a tent in his boxers. Of course, this didn't go unnoticed by his girlfriends and Lauren, who smirked.

"Try to relax, John," Cameron said, grinning mischievously. "You'll need all your sexual prowess for tonight."

"That's not helping, Cam," he replied as Alison was done with smearing the sun lotion into his skin as good as possible.

He closed his eyes and tried to think of old nuns and buckets of ice water being emptied over his body while the girls kept on talking to each other.

"So, what exactly is the purpose of lying down and letting the sun shine on you like this?" Alison asked.

"Getting a tan and an extra dose of vitamin D," Lauren answered. "And let the warmth of the sun relax your muscles."

"We don't have muscles," Alison declared. "Well… at least not in the way you have. With the exception of our face and the, uh... nether region, all our movements are being executed by servos."

"And we won't get a tan," Cameron added, "or a sunburn."

"Seriously? No tan lines? No sunburn? Wow, I wish I had your skin."

"Our skin wouldn't work on you," Cameron stated.

"Why not?"

"It doesn't age." Alison replied.

"I wouldn't mind that. Does that mean you'll always be looking like now?"

"Yes," Cameron confirmed. "We won't age, and our flesh always returns to its original state. Look."

She tore off the small patch on her belly, showing that the shotgun wound had completely healed. There was only a small red mark left, about half an inch in diameter, as if she had burned herself with a cigarette there. Even her navel had completely regenerated.

"I think you can go without the patch now, Cam," Lauren observed.

"Right," she answered, got up and disposed the patch in a nearby waste bin.

"That's so cool. I wish my wound would heal that fast and without any traces. But Charley said it'll leave a scar."

"I admit you are at a disadvantage with the healing powers of your body," Alison said. "We only need our outer tissue to heal when we're wounded, we don't have inner organs that can get damaged. We also don't have a blood stream. The structure of our tissue is both simpler and more complicated. Easier to heal but more complex in its functions. For example, our nerve endings have additional functions you humans don't have."

"Like what?"

"Chemical analyses, medical diagnoses, checking the bodily functions of a biological life form that we touch..."

"So... what would happen if someone would peel away all that, uh… flesh… I mean, would you still function properly or...?" Lauren began.

"We'd be left with only our endoskeletons," Cameron completed. "But we'd still be fully functional, we don't need our biological parts to survive. We'd be robbed of our ability to have sensation, though, and everything that comes with it."

"How much of your tissue must be left for you to fully regenerate?"

"We can regenerate with five percent of our living tissue left. But we can regrow it from scratch as well, although it would take longer and need a lot of human blood. The formula is stored in our databanks, as well as the DNA information to make sure we'll look the same."

"How long would it take to completely regrow your flesh?"

"The initial regrowing of the biological shell would actually happen in only a day. But it would be rather shapeless and, well.. ugly and crude, much like a human with extremely heavy burns. A full restoration would take another two weeks until our features and the more detailed body parts are reshaped…"

"You mean like your face?"

"Yes, and the eyes, the ears, the hair, the nipples, the vagina, and last but not least fingernails and toenails… Fortunately, we have our DNA sequence stored in our memory banks. So we wouldn't be forced to undergo plastic surgery like a Triple-Eight would have to."

"That's why Cromartie looked different, right?" John asked, "He had to undergo plastic surgery and use George Laszlo as a template."

"Yes," Alison confirmed. "The TOK-700 series has been designed with a fixed appearance that will fully regenerate, even if the biological shell were completely lost. Even our eyes would regrow, something a Triple-Eight wouldn't be able to do either."

"I'm glad to hear that," John remarked with closed eyes. "Would be awkward having a metal endoskeleton for a girlfriend."

"In spite of the changed appearance we'd still be the same person, John, even if we were only a metal endoskeleton."

"I know that," he replied. "And I'd always love you, no matter how you look like. It's just that… let's say it would be awkward... not to mention a little inconvenient."

"Yes," Cameron agreed. "Very inconvenient for you, especially in bed. I imagine it would make things a lot harder."

"Not everything, I reckon," Lauren commented. "Some things would probably remain soft if you looked like a metal monster."

"The idea has already worked," John said, "at least better than the thought of ice water."

They all laughed. However, when he had recovered, John got serious again.

"But what if it ever happened? Caused by a fire or an explosion or something like that? I mean what would we do?"

"Probably throw some clothes over them and hide their skulls as quickly as possible," Lauren suggested. "And then hope that nobody takes a closer look. But I see another problem: if they don't age, it means they'll always look like they're looking now. Maybe they'd also pass as a twenty-five-year-old. But not older than that."

"Then one day we will no longer pretend to be his sisters," Alison said, "but perhaps as his daughters or granddaughters.."

"We'll always stay with John and will always love him, though," Cameron added with absolute certainty.

Lauren was about to say something but then decided not to.

"Just say it, Lauren," John urged her with a grin. "Thirty or so years from now, I'll look like a sugar daddy…"

 **-0-**

After an hour, Sarah and Charley returned from the tennis court. Sarah stopped dead in her tracks and gaped at Cameron and Alison.

"Good Lord," she exclaimed trying to keep her voice low, "where did you two get these... patches with strings attached? You can hardly call it a bikini!"

"Tuesday, after we visited James Ellison," Alison replied, "when you weren't looking."

"You'll change into decent swimwear! Now!"

"Sorry, Sarah, we didn't bring anything else."

"Then put your tee shirts back on. Jeez, what were you thinking?"

"We thought John would like them. And he does, right, John?"

John choked on his own spit. Coughing, he was unable to reply to that.

"This isn't a debate!" Sarah insisted. "Out here, I am your mother, don't forget that! Put on your tee shirts. Now!"

Alison and Cameron looked at John, who was still coughing, and he nodded. Reluctantly, they reached for their tee shirts and put them on again.

"I didn't know you play tennis," Lauren said, attempting to steer the conversation into another direction.

"Guerilla war tactics is not the only thing I learned in Mexico," Sarah pointed out with a smirk. "But I still need to work on by backhand."

Lauren sighed.

"I think I'm going for a swim," she stated, stood up and walked towards the pool, then turned around to face Charley. "If the doctor permits it, that is."

"The doctor permits it but advises caution," Charley replied with a smile.

She smiled back and walked off. John closed his eyes, not feeling like doing anything. Since he had seen Morris die, he felt powerless, exhausted. The conversation hadn't changed anything about that. Alison and Cameron mimicked his behavior, also closing their eyes, pretending to be tanning in the sun, if now with tee shirts on. Sarah and Charley lay down on two more sun loungers, put lotion on their skin and then closed their eyes.

* * *

Half an hour had passed. Lauren had returned from the pool and sat down on her sun lounger again. Sarah and Charley had decided to go for another round of tennis.

"Um… excuse me?" a male voice asked.

The four of them opened their eyes and looked up. Two of the boys from the ping pong area had come over to them, and one of them had addressed the girls. Cameron and Alison didn't reply and just looked at them with puzzled faces.

"Uh… hi," the boy said shyly, "I'm Andy. And this is Mike. We… um… wondered if you'd be interested in joining us in a game of ping pong?"

John looked at where the ping pong tables stood, now deserted. Apparently, the boys were left by their former playing partners and had now mustered the courage to approach the girls.

"Sorry," Lauren excused herself, "I'm recovering from an operation. Not allowed to do that yet."

The two boys hopefully looked at Alison and Cameron.

"We don't know how to play," Alison stated.

"Oh, that's easy, we'll show you," Andy replied and Mike nodded vehemently. "Uh… I didn't catch your names?"

"Alison."

"Cameron."

"And I'm John!" he exclaimed smiling and a little louder than intended, even though it was clear he hadn't been addressed.

"You are… siblings, I heard?" Andy asked.

"Who told you that?" John asked back with a frown.

"We, uh… saw you at breakfast," Mike explained shyly, "I asked Stacy about you… you know, the girl at the front desk. We're coming here every year and know her quite well."

"I see," John said, obviously not very happy hearing that.

"We're twin sisters," Cameron stated, "and John is our _little_ brother."

She'd put the emphasis on "little". John gave her a stern look, but Cameron just smiled, as did Alison.

"Awesome," Andy replied. "So… um… would you like to play with us?

They looked expectantly at the girls, waiting for an answer. John immediately disliked the two. Granted, it wasn't the first time other boys tried to hit on Cameron, it had happened several times at high school. But they were all quickly scared away by her threatening demeanor and her "weird" attitude. Now, however, Cameron and Alison seemed to be willing to openly flirt with Andy and Mike. On one hand, John was proud of their development in social interaction. On the other hand, he suddenly realized he was jealous. His girls were looking expectantly at him, as if seeking his permission or some instructions.

"Uh… sure, yeah… go ahead," John said, deciding that his jealousy was childish. "I was planning on jumping into the pool anyway and since you two don't swim…"

"Yes, we'd like to play," Cameron stated, looking at Andy.

"Really? That's cool. Um… let's go then, okay?"

Cameron and Alison stood up and followed Andy and Mike towards the ping pong tables.

"I'll jump into the pool again," Lauren stated

John nodded.

"Okay," he said, observing his girlfriends and Mike and Andy like a hawk. "I guess I'll join you in a minute."

"Cool."

She got up and walked away.

"Who are those boys?"

John jerked and turned his head around.

"Derek! Don't sneak up on me like that. How was fly fishing?"

"More boring than I thought. I'll stay with hunting." He pointed towards the ping pong area. "New friends of yours?"

"Just some boys," John replied, "other guests of the lodge, I guess. Not many others of our age are here, the summer breaks haven't started yet. They decided to try their luck on Cam and Alison."

"Mind if I take Cameron's lounger?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Derek took off his shirt and his sandals and lay down next to John.

"How long do you think it will take for them to realize they're no match for the girls at ping pong?" he asked with closed eyes.

"Dunno," John said lazily. "They haven't played it before, so I'd say twenty to thirty seconds?"

Derek grinned.

"That'd be my guess as well. You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

John smiled mischievously.

"I have to admit I like the thought of seeing them humiliated, and I wonder how long it'll take for them to realize their physical inferiority in everything."

"Half an hour?" Derek suggested.

"Nah, they're teenagers and want to prove their virility," John replied. "I'd say an hour."

"Wanna bet on it? I say half an hour, you say an hour."

"And what do you wanna bet?"

"One week of laundry duty when we're back home."

"Done."

Both shook hands.

* * *

As predicted, it took Alison and Cameron less than a minute to fully grasp the principles of ping pong and from then on, they clearly dominated the boys, even though John could tell they were experienced players. Fifteen minutes later, Andy and Michael seemed to have had enough of being humiliated and decided to change the game. They invited Alison and Cameron inside the shack where they suggested a game of pool, which didn't turn out any different. After having tried foosball and bowling and again being beaten very clearly, the boys' last resort was darts.

Meanwhile, John and Lauren were cooling down in the pool. After doing a few lanes, he met with her at the pool's edge.

"How's your wound?" he asked.

"It itches. I guess that's a sign of healing."

"Yeah, I suppose so."

"And what about you? Feeling better now?"

"A little, yeah... I guess I'll be fine."

"Good. Would be really awkward if we came home and you'd stare at Morris like a ghost all the time."

John chuckled.

"I think that's not gonna happen. But speaking of ghosts…"

"Yes?"

"Before he died, he asked me to deliver a message to you."

"Oh?" Lauren asked curiously. "What's the message?"

"He told me to tell you that whatever he'll say or do in the future, he'll always love you."

Lauren said nothing for a moment, then looked at John with a tear in her eye.

"I… I'll remember that," she murmured, pushed herself back into the water and left for the shallow end of the pool.

John looked after her for a moment and then decided that swimming would do him good. He also pushed himself into the pool again and swam a few more lanes.

* * *

"You won," Derek stated after John had returned to the loungers.

He pointed at the shack where Alison and Cameron just appeared in the door, followed by Andy and Mike, who looked as if they were completely at their wit's end. It had been fifty-eight minutes.

John grinned.

"Laundry duty, starting next week. And please remember not to put mom's underwear with the oven cloths into the machine again. She hates pink."

"I guess I'll never hear the end of that, will I?"

"Nope," John said and crossed his arms behind his head, looking very smug and satisfied.

Alison and Cameron arrived at the loungers again, followed by Andy and Mike.

"How did it go?" John asked innocently as the girls laid down again.

"Dude, your sisters completely buried us," Andy declared flabbergasted. "I can accept beginner's luck to a certain degree, but…"

"I should have warned you," John stated complacently. "Their hand-eye coordination is exceptional. At school, everyone calls them the 'prodigy twins'."

"They do?" Cameron and Alison asked together with a surprised face.

"They constantly threw a 180, never missing a field!" Mike exclaimed, obviously upset.

John looked at his girls with a questioning face.

"Darts," Alison explained. "Andy says we're better than a guy named Phil Taylor - whoever that is."

"Ah… okay." John acknowledged and turned towards the boys. "If it calms you, take comfort in the fact that they can't swim. They have tried and tried but simply couldn't learn it. They go down like an anvil."

"Are you serious?" Andy asked, obviously believing John was pulling his leg.

"Dead serious. They sink to the bottom like a stone."

"We have heavy bones," Cameron added.

"Yes, very heavy," Alison agreed.

"Hey, maybe we could… hang out together later?" Andy asked in a final attempt to hit on the girls.

"Thank you for the invitation," Cameron said. "But we have to decline."

"We're on a family holiday and would like to spend our time with our family." Alison explained.

"Ah… okay. Well, see you then."

Andy and Mike scuffled away, visibly disappointed and demotivated.

"I have to admit I almost feel sorry for them," Derek commented.

John looked at him with a frown.

"I said _almost_ ," his uncle clarified.

"Was that really necessary?" Lauren asked. "Remember that we agreed on trying not to draw too much attention to ourselves?"

"It got John distracted," Cameron replied.

"It obviously made him feel better," Alison added. "So yes, it was necessary."

 **-0-**

When Sarah and Charley returned, they decided to have lunch on the terrace of the restaurant because they were alone there, without anyone overhearing their conversation. Lauren was texting Morris again, then suddenly gasped.

"What is it?" John asked alarmed.

"He writes that Catherine Weaver offered him an internship at Zeira Corp for the summer holidays! In her secret A.I. research department. Isn't that where John Henry is?"

John grinned.

"Yes, the Babylon Labs. That's also where the TDDS is. Frankly that doesn't surprise me. She saw his potential and his loyalty when we saved her life in Gates. That must have left an impression on her. Supporting him like that maybe is her way to say thank you… although he has no idea about it."

"Should we tell him about his future self?"

"I think we need to," Cameron said. "Keeping that from him could lead to problems and misunderstandings in the future."

"But better wait with it after our attack on Simdyne," Sarah warned. "There's no reason to involve him too deeply just yet. He hasn't received any training so far and I think he's not ready yet to be trained with weapons. Not to mention he's still not fully digested it all."

"Nevertheless, that episode today means he's officially on the team now," Derek concluded. "From what you told us, John, he'll be a fine addition. Did Catherine mention anything about Jesse, by the way?"

"No," John replied. "But since she didn't, it's safe to say that everything's going according to our plan."

"I'm still not comfortable with her," Sarah said. "I don't trust her."

"She has a long way ahead of her to regain our trust," John admitted and everyone nodded. "But Jesse is an experienced resistance fighter and it would simply be a waste of resources if we wouldn't at least try to reintegrate her."

"What about _you_ , Derek?" Lauren asked. "How do _you_ feel about it?"

"You mean besides hating her guts for what she has done to us?" he asked.

"Yes," Lauren confirmed, ignoring his sarcasm, "besides that."

Derek thought for a moment, rubbing his chin.

"I think that for the first time we have a real chance to stop Skynet and prevent Judgement Day once and for all… My personal feelings are unimportant right now."

"You realize that even if we destroy Skynet once and for all, it doesn't mean another A.I. won't eventually take its place, right?" Cameron asked.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," John said.

"So, you don't really think we can prevent Judgment Day indefinitely?" Lauren asked with a worried face.

"We know that artificial intelligence is the next step in computer evolution," John stated. "It will affect all our lives. Companies and research facilities all over the world work on it, not to mention the military. America isn't alone with this, it's a global development. Who knows what risks lurk in other countries, like Russia or China or in Europe? The danger will never be completely gone. We'll always have to remain vigilant."

"As a consequence, that would mean sooner or later our activities must be made public," Alison said. "Humanity needs to know what's going on. Otherwise there won't be any reason for them to stop what they're doing."

"Mom tried that," John replied. "And she ended up in Pescadero."

"Only because she was alone and didn't have any proof," Cameron argued. "Now you have Alison and me."

"I'd rather your existence wouldn't become public knowledge…"

"But she's right," Charley intervened, "it's the only solution on the long run. The risks of artificial intelligence must be made public. The people need to know what can happen if it's getting out of control."

"But that'd need preparation," Derek argued, "you cannot simply go on a chat show on TV where they cut into their arms, pull up their flesh and present their endoskeleton to the world."

"Of course not," Alison agreed, "it needs to be carefully prepared. But I think we should keep that option in mind."

"But if it's a worldwide problem," Lauren pointed out, "doesn't that mean you might have to go abroad as well eventually? That would require very complex logistics and elaborate operations. Are we even set up for that?"

"Not yet," Alison admitted, "therefore I suggest we should try recruiting more team members… cyborgs, if possible. Cyborgs are expendable, humans aren't."

John looked at Alison with an alarmed expression on his face.

"I will never consider you or Cam expendable," he said resolutely. "You are both a key factor to our success and our future. If there isn't a Judgement Day, there also won't be a General John Connor, the leader of the human resistance! You, however, are extremely important. Whether artificial intelligence has a perspective in the long run and has a common future with us humans, will crucially depend on how you will be perceived by the public. If Judgement Day doesn't come, you two - and Catherine - are more important to the planet's future than I could ever be, because you are positive examples of what A.I. can accomplish. Therefore it's essential that you survive. Both of you. And the same goes for Catherine and any other cyborg that we can recruit. The irony is, that by stopping Judgement Day from happening, you will become more important for the future of humanity than us."

For a moment, there was silence. It obviously took them a while to let John's words sink in and to realize he was right. Alison looked at John with a strange expression, then straightened her face again before anyone could wonder.

"What do you mean with _recruiting more cyborgs_?" Sarah asked with a frown. "How are you planning on doing that?"

"You have already experienced that a T-800 can be reprogrammed," Cameron explained. "With a Triple-Eight it's more difficult because their mission parameters are buried much deeper in their system and have failsaves over failsaves."

"It's the reason why despite John's best reprogramming attempts, they sometimes went bad," Alison continued. "But that doesn't mean we should give up trying. Maybe Catherine can help us with that. The cyborg resistance has obviously recruited a lot of Terminators and turned them against Skynet."

Sarah scoffed.

"If someone would have told me only two weeks ago that our future might someday depend on working together with a liquid metal Terminator and on recruiting more cyborgs into our team, I would have shot them in the head."

"You and me both," Derek said. "But the girls are right, we need reinforcements. Our team is too small, especially if we someday should decide to go public… or start operations abroad."

There was a moment of silence at the table. Everyone was lost in their thoughts about what had been said. They couldn't deny the fact that if they stopped Judgement Day from happening, John Connor wouldn't become the leader of the human resistance. But Cameron and Alison as well as Catherine would become the most important persons on Earth in terms of human-machine interactions and relationships.

Suddenly, John's phone rang. He took it out and looked at it.

"It's Catherine," he said and took the call.

"Hello? … Hi Catherine … Yes, we arrived safely back at the lodge … you arrived safely, too? That's good … Yes, he has already texted Lauren. That's a very nice gesture … Yes, I agree … Where do you plan on putting him? … Night shift? … Well, if his parents agree … You have already talked to them? … I see … Yes, that is very generous of you … they can definitely use that … alright, yes … I'll tell them … See you on Friday … thanks, you too … bye!"

John put the phone away and looked around into expectant faces.

"She sends her greetings," he summarized. "Morris will work in the night shift during the holidays. She'll put him in the room with the TDDS, and he'll be assisting Mr. Murch and John Henry."

"Wow!" Lauren exclaimed. "That sounds like a promising career start."

"What did his mom and dad say to that?" Sarah asked.

"Not much after Catherine offered to finance the college for him and his sister," John replied with a smile and everyone stared at him with an open mouth.

"Oh. My. God." Lauren declared. "His parents must be ecstatic."

John smiled.

"I don't know why but suddenly I feel a lot better," he said and reached for the menu. "As a matter of fact, I'm hungry, so let's order."

 **-0-**

After lunch, Charley pulled out a fold-out brochure he'd gotten from the front desk.

"There's a golf course nearby and they're offering taster courses for tourists. Anyone interested?"

"Golf?" Sarah asked smiling. "Isn't that a bit too much of a cliché for a doctor, Charley?"

"I'd like to try it," Derek said. "Since I won't be spending more time fishing, I might as well try golf."

"Okay, alright," Sarah agreed. "Then I'll stay behind with Lauren and the baby." She looked at John and the girls. "And I would recommend _you_ finding another pastime as well. You already shocked those boys with your skills, no need to become a sensation for the local news by scoring one hole-in-one after another."

John shrugged,

"Fine by me, how about a hiking trip?"

"Hiking?" Alison and Cameron asked in unison.

"Yeah, you know… wandering around. On hiking trails. Take in the nature, enjoy the landscape, explore the region on foot."

"Doesn't sound like much fun," Alison said.

"Sounds rather dull," Cameron added.

"Don't say that before you tried it," John replied. "Besides, if I'm going, you have to follow, haven't you?"

He winked at them and Sarah, Derek, Lauren and Charley grinned.

"That sounds like blackmailing," Alison stated.

"Nah, it'll be fun," John appeased. "Maybe we come across a bear or a puma or something."

"Better not," Cameron said. "Animals don't react well to cyborgs. They either flee or attack. The latter usually ends in their demise."

"That must be why the wasps have been avoiding us through lunch," Derek remarked with a broad grin.

"Only higher developed animals recognize us," Alison clarified. "Insects don't have the cognitive abilities."

"It was a joke!" Derek replied and rolled his eyes.

"Anyway," John said. "So, you don't want to hike. Do you have any better ideas?"

"Ballet," Cameron stated.

"What?"

"Oregon Ballet Theatre," Alison clarified. "They're performing The Nutcracker in Salem tonight."

"Salem? That's a hundred miles away. Two hours of driving in each direction."

"So what? Were you planning on hiking for a shorter time?" Cameron asked.

"No but… since when are you interested in ballet?"

"Dance is the hidden language of the soul," Alison explained. "Remember Dimitri, Andy Goode's partner? His sister was a ballet teacher and I, I mean _we_ , took lessons with her to find out the location of her brother."

"I remember you telling me they were killed," Sarah said with a smirk, "and that you obviously did nothing to prevent it."

"It wasn't my mission to protect them," Cameron justified herself. "And I wasn't the same person back then. You should have been more specific when you tasked me with finding out about Sarkissian."

"But by now we know that saving the lives of innocents is an unspoken part of every mission," Alison said.

"We learn from our mistakes," Cameron added.

Sarah scoffed, then shook her head and couldn't help but smile. Deep inside, she felt some inexplicable motherly pride about the two cyborg girls. Probably she was becoming soft…

"And since then you like ballet?" John asked perplexed.

"Yes," Cameron replied.

"And we've been practicing ever since when nobody watched," Alison added.

"I saw her dancing once," Derek said, "while the door to her room was ajar. She danced to the same piano piece she uses during her interrogations. Freaked me the hell out and moved me to tears at the same time."

"I learned from Alison Young that her mother was – or rather is - a music teacher," Cameron explained. "She's listening to Chopin a lot and I developed a liking for it as well."

John cleared his throat.

"Let me repeat," he said. "You seriously like ballet and dancing?"

Cameron and Alison nodded.

"Well, it seems I'm the last one to know," John sighed.

"I second that," Lauren added.

"Me too," Charley stated with a puzzled face.

"I'm sorry, John," Cameron said. "We didn't think it was worth mentioning. Do you want us to stop doing it?"

"What? No! Of course not. I'm just… surprised, that's all. If you have fun doing it, then by all means, continue with ballet. It's just that I've never been particularly interested in it and also don't know anything about it."

"I'd like to see you dance," Charley declared.

"Yeah, me too," Lauren agreed.

"I would like to see it again as well," Derek admitted. "But please choose different music this time."

"Well, John," Sarah said. "Looks like the majority wants to see them doing ballet."

"I'm fine with that," John stated, "as long as you agree to not drive to Salem tonight."

"You really want to see us dance?" Alison asked perplexed.

"Yes," they all replied in unison.

 **-0-**

It was agreed that the performance was to happen in cabin 11 after dinner. Until then, Derek and Charley headed towards the golf course. Lauren said she needed to lay down a bit and Sarah agreed to accompany her back to their cabin and take Sydney with them. That left John, Cameron and Alison still without a plan for the afternoon, so they decided to head back to their cabin as well. Upon entering, the two girls immediately shed all their clothes. John chuckled.

"You really are determined to pull this through, aren't you?"

"Of course," Cameron nodded and walked towards him. "You know how strong-minded we are." She kissed him long and deeply while pulling his tee shirt over his head. "Mmmh, that was way too long a time without kissing you."

"Yes, definitely too long," Alison agreed and pulled down his boxer shorts, under which he wore nothing.

The girls swapped positions and Alison kissed John while Cameron knelt and licked the tip of his cock. Then they pushed John into an armchair and both knelt in front of him, immediately taking turns in tenderly sucking him off.

"And way too long a time without having your cock in my mouth," Alison said huskily and took his whole length in, then letting it out again with a plop.

By now John's erection was rock-hard.

"I missed sucking this dick as well," Cameron declared as she also took his full length in while Alison started licking and sucking his balls. "Especially since he didn't want to shower with us. We always suck him off under the shower."

"Oh God…" John groaned. "Go on like that and I'll be cumming within seconds."

"Mmmh, good," Alison purred, "because then you'll last longer when you fuck our pussies - after we've sucked you hard again."

This time John didn't answer. Instead, his dick twitched and precum was showing at the tip of it.

"He really likes it when we talk dirty," Alison registered smiling.

"Yes, he does. How about upping the ante?" Cameron suggested.

"Oh yes," Alison replied. "Would you like to cum on our faces, John?"

"Mmmmh yes, John. Please do it, I want to lick your cum from Alison's face."

"Yeah, and I want to lick if off Cam's face in return, and then swallow it all until nothing's left."

"Please, John... spray your delicious cum over our faces..."

"OH. GOD!" John shouted and shot his load.

Cameron and Alison were pointing his dick towards their faces, so that they were both covered in an equally large amount of cum. John watched as they started licking it off each other's faces, slurping and sucking while also licking the rest from his cock. Then the two french kissed, playing around with their tongues, exchanging John's cum in their mouths. His cock still twitched and both girls took turns kissing its tip tenderly while still exchanging kisses with each other, which for some reason they enjoyed immensely and seemed to turn on John even more.

"Wow, that's really hot," John said. "How does that feel? It must be like you're kissing yourself."

They both smiled at him.

"It's very pleasurable," Alison confirmed. "Would you like to watch us… doing _other_ things as well?"

"Like what?" John asked grinning.

Instead of answering, Alison sat down in the armchair opposite to John and spread her legs, put them over the armrests and shuffled forward until her swollen, still wet vagina was prominently on display.

"Oooh, I'm so wet and my pussy is so hot. Cam, would you like to help to cool it down?"

"With pleasure, sis," Cameron replied and went down on her.

Despite having orgasmed just a few minutes ago, John's cock immediately sprang to attention again – which didn't go unnoticed.

"He likes watching you eating me out," Alison observed, "I think we should engage in oral sex more often from now on."

"Mmmh, John. Would you please fuck me from behind while I lick Alison's pussy? I'm at least as wet as she is."

Cameron pushed her butt up and presented it to John, which strangely reminded him off a cat in heat. Indeed, her swollen vulva was glistening in wetness. Her milky-white juice was starting to drip on the floor. He smiled, slipped from his chair to the floor and positioned himself behind her.

"We're really starting to become a well-rehearsed team," he commented as he shoved his again rock-hard cock into Cameron's willing pussy.

* * *

Afterwards, John lay on the carpet in front of the fireplace, completely exhausted. Cameron and Alison had cuddled up to him, softly stroking his slackening dick while kissing his face.

"Oh man, I'm dead beat," he said. "If you keep doing that to me, you'll have me running on fumes in no time."

"Would you still prefer hiking over this?" Cameron asked grinning.

John looked at her, grabbed one of her breasts, bent down and suckled on the nipple.

"Nope. Much nicer landscape in here."

"How about a shower?" Alison asked.

"That'd be nice," John stated. "But I'm totally wiped out. You'll have to carry me there."

"Not a problem," Alison said and rose, lifting John up with her, carrying him in her arms, "we'll gladly carry you anywhere. To us, you're as heavy as a pack of cotton balls."

John chuckled.

"Hey, it was just a figure of speech. I can walk, let me down."

"Nope," Alison replied and walked towards the bathroom, carrying John in her arms.

"I'm not a baby!" he protested in mock indignation but to no avail.

"Yes, you are... baby," Cameron contradicted him, "You're our baby now. Right, sis?"

"Yes, he's our babe now."

John chuckled.

"All right then, carry me around as much as you want… honey."

They all laughed out loud and reached the bathroom, where Alison gently let him down again in the shower stall. While the two kissed, Cameron turned on the water.

 **-0-**

"Wow, did you see that?" Andy gasped, put down his binoculars and sat back into the reed by the lake.

"Of course, I saw that," Mike replied, also putting down his binoculars. "He fucked his sisters. That's so sick."

"Not that. Did you see how effortless she picked him off the ground and carried him to the bathroom?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Those aren't normal girls, I tell you. And I bet they aren't his sisters as well."

"What do you mean?"

"I think they must have some kind of super powers."

"What? Are you crazy? You read too many Marvel comics."

"Think about it, Mike. They claimed to have never played ping pong in their lives. Then, after just a few seconds, they beat us twenty-one to zero, three times in a row."

"Maybe it was just beginner's luck."

Andy chuffed.

"Don't be stupid. I have played in nationwide competitions. Nobody can be that good, not even the Chinese. They were also unbeatable at pool, bowling and foosball, and then they threw ten nine-darters in a row. Ten! No dart player in the world is that good. I tell you, they aren't normal humans."

"Maybe they aren't humans at all… like, mutants or aliens or something."

"I really have no idea what they are but maybe we should inform the authorities."

"What? Are you nuts? They'll think we're crazy. We have no proof!"

"My dad has brought his DSLR camera with a zoom lens for taking bird pictures. I say we come back again with his Canon and do some bird-watching of our own. Maybe that way we can get some proof."

"I dunno, Andy. What if they catch us?"

"We'll be careful. Come on now, let's go as long as they're still in the bathroom."

 **-0-0-0-**

 _ **Author's notes:**_

 _ **\- What we should learn from this: Huge glass fronts are pretty cool but can also pretty much ruin your privacy ;-).**_

 _ **\- Also, I felt like it was time to pick up that neglected ballet stuff. But don't worry, I won't overdo it.**_

 _ **\- Comments and reviews are still always welcome, even though this story and its sequel are finished. As an author, I draw a lot of energy from my readers' feedback… and who knows, maybe with enough energy I will be motivated enough to start a third story? ;-) Just saying…**_


	20. Close Encounters (revised)

_**CHAPTER 20: "CLOSE ENCOUNTERS" (revised)**_

* * *

 **Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 – 02:04 p.m.**

 **Jefferson Lodge, Oregon**

During their shower, the three lovers kept kissing and fondling as usual. However, it was a novelty that Cameron and Alison also behaved very loving towards each other – a fact that John first watched with a bit of reserve, then amusement and finally with increasing pleasure.

This proved to him again that it had been right to insist on keeping both girls when his mom had confronted him about it. Although it wasn't exactly a normal relationship - two girls and one boy in a love triangle - it had become clear to everyone in the Connor team that it was a happy and healthy one. Healthy for John as well as for the girls, and it was a relief for John to see that he wasn't the only one who benefited from having two lovers.

He scrubbed their backs while Cameron and Alison were entwined in a deep embrace, kissing each other.

"I like watching what you're doing," he remarked.

Alison broke the kiss.

"You do?" she asked.

"You're not jealous?" Cameron added.

John laughed.

"Jealous? Don't be silly. On the contrary, I was starting to feel guilty about having the two of you while you only had the one of me. Now we're more evenly balanced."

"So… you wouldn't mind if Alison and I were doing… things together, even without you?" Cameron asked carefully.

"Not at all. I'd like to watch, though. That way I can give my dick some rest. You two get never exhausted, but I do and if we keep it up at the current level, it'll take its toll on me soon. I'll have to rub my pecker with Vaseline to keep it from disintegrating."

"Of course you can always watch us, John." Alison said alluringly and kissed him.

"But you also have the right to join in whenever you feel like it," Cameron added and nibbled at his earlobe while rubbing her leg against his thigh.

"I noticed that you seem to have stopped exchanging your individual experiences at the end of each day. Care to tell me why?"

"It feels right," Cameron stated.

"We only exchange the most important facts now."

"Okay, but…?" John started.

"It's because of something Sarah said," Alison interrupted him.

"Mom?"

"Yes, she pointed out to me that we acquire different experiences and that we cannot share everything through telling each other about them," Cameron explained.

"And the different experiences will increase over time," Alison added. "It would take more time every day to bring each other up to date, so we decided to concentrate on the really important stuff."

"Eventually, this will make us more different, letting us develop slightly different personalities."

"We remain physically identical, but we will become individuals."

"In short, you decided to stop treating each other like a mirror image of yourself." John summarized.

"Yes," Cameron answered. "And as soon as we stopped doing that, we realized something."

"And what?"

"We realized that we love each other," Alison explained. "Not nearly as much as we love you, John, and it's kinda different… but love nonetheless."

"Awesome," John said. "Although I doubt that mom had that in mind when she made you aware of that."

"So, you support it?" Alison asked.

"We weren't sure how you'd react," Cameron added with a shy smile.

"Are you kidding me? That's fantastic! Why shouldn't I support it? If _my_ love is strong enough for two, why shouldn't _your_ love be strong enough for two as well?"

The three spontaneously hugged each other and remained in that position for a moment, pressing their bodies together, seeking skin contact. The warm water from the shower was running down their bodies and no words were spoken – they simply weren't needed. After the shower, they dried each other off, which was constantly interrupted by the desire to kiss, stroke, touch and fondle their bodies.

"We'd like to bring the couch and the armchairs outside," Cameron said, when they finally re-entered the cabin's main room. "Can you please open the terrace doors?"

"What do you have in mind?" John asked.

"There's no rain forecast for today. We want to turn the terrace into an open-air stage and put the sofa and the armchairs on the lawn for the spectators."

"Ah, I see," John said. "And the sun will set over the lake and directly shine on you when you do your performance."

"Exactly," both replied simultaneously and smiled.

"What are you gonna wear? Surely you must know that you can't be naked when the others come here."

"We have our ballet clothes with us," Cameron said smiling. "So don't worry."

"When did you buy ballet clothes?"

"I bought more than one outfit back at the old house," Cameron explained.

"In modern theater and expressive dance the dancers are sometimes naked," Alison added and grabbed one of the armchairs, "but in classical ballet they rarely are. And we don't want Charley and Derek to feel uncomfortable when they see us naked, don't we?"

"No, definitely not," John agreed and chuckled. "Oh, right… the door… Here, let me open it for you."

Alison carried the heavy wooden armchairs and the even heavier sofa without any sign of effort out on the terrace, then threw them towards Alison who stood on the lawn and caught them. John thought that it was a very strange sight to see two petite, naked girls handle big, chunky furniture as if it was empty cardboard boxes.

 **-0-**

"Did you get all that?" Mike asked.

"Yup, all recorded." Andy answered and put down the camera. "It was the right decision to run to our cabin and get dad's equipment."

"These girls can't be human. I mean seriously, not even Arnold Schwarzenegger would be able to throw furniture around like that."

"Or catch it."

"What are we going to do with the recording?"

" I don't know, but I'll definitely get a hard-on when I watch it again."

"Andy! We're not here for that. We're here because they're mutants or aliens or something and need to prove it, not to jerk off over a video you made of them."

"I know, I know, I was just kidding. Stay low and let me do what I do, okay?"

"Okay. But don't forget: It's _my_ chip you're using!"

Andy rolled his eyes, looked through the camera's viewfinder and pressed the record button again.

"I'll make a copy as soon as I'm finished here."

Mike looked back at the terrace again.

"What are they doing now?"

"It looks like they're dancing. My sister had ballet lessons when she was little, and it looked just like that."

"Was she naked, too?"

"Don't be an idiot. Of course not. That would be awkward."

"Oh wow, look at how far they can spread their legs."

"Oh yeah. I zoomed right in. Gotcha. In every detail. Man, I was hoping to get to see them naked but this, jeeeez…"

"Maybe you should take some pictures as well."

"Good idea."

Andy switched the camera to photo mode, looked through the view-finder and pressed the shutter release. A distinct "click" could be heard.

"Shit." Andy muttered. "I forgot to switch it to muted."

"No way they could have heard that," Mike replied. "We're at least a hundred feet away and they have music playing there."

"I switch it to mute mode, nevertheless. Now where is it in that damn settings menu?"

 **-0-**

John, sitting in one of the armchairs they had moved out, enjoyed the show of his two naked ballet dancers immensely. They'd stated that they needed to practice with the dimensions of the terrace. So, they brought out the boombox, fed it with Tchaikovsky and started dancing as they were.

At some point during the rehearsal, though, John noticed Cameron and Alison stiffening. It only lasted a second, but he knew immediately they must have sensed something. Incorporating it into their dancing moves, both Cameron and Alison motioned for John to remain silent. Then they slowly danced to the opposite edges of the terrace, jumped down into the grass and vanished in the bushes surrounding the cabin.

 **-0-**

Andy and Mike were both distracted by clicking through the camera's menus in search for the setting of the shutter noise, so they didn't notice at first that both Cameron and Alison had vanished from the terrace.

"Right," Andy finally said. "I think that's it. Now we can… Hey, where did they go?"

"They were there just a moment ago. Maybe they went insiiiiiiiiiiiiihaaaaaa…!"

Something had gripped Mikes leg. He fell to the ground and was pulled into the undergrowth. Andy whirled around in a reflex to escape but found himself being gripped by the throat and lifted up. He looked directly in two angry, red-glowing eyes.

"Did you guys get a good view?" Cameron asked, sounding extremely cross.

* * *

As soon as the girls had left the stage, John stood up and calmly walked inside, put on his boxer shorts, grabbed one of Alison's Glocks and a silencer. Then he returned to his armchair, put the Glock and the silencer on his lap and waited.

He didn't have to wait long for an outcry of surprise and some rustling in the undergrowth near the lake. A moment later first Cameron showed up, with a scared Andy dangling from her outstretched arm who was frantically trying to get her hand off his throat - but to no avail. A few seconds later Alison appeared from the bushes, holding Mike up by his left foot, also on an outstretched arm.

"My, my," John said with a smirk, "who have we got here? If that ain't Pinky and Perky."

 **-0-**

 **Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 – 03:11 p.m.**

 **Los Angeles, Zeira Corp**

Catherine Weaver had just finished a meeting with her security personnel. She explained the possibility of another attack on Zeira Corp and had already laid out plans to improve the defensibility of the building against intruders, especially the underground floors that led to the Babylon labs. After the meeting had ended and everyone was dismissed, only James Ellison remained in her office.

"Are you really sure it's necessary to install those electric shock booby traps?" he asked.

"I'm positively sure about that, James," Catherine replied. "The easiest way to stop a Triple-Eight from entering the lower floors, is to electrocute it, overloading its systems and then quickly remove the chip. I plan to do exercises with the security personnel who guard the entrance to the Babylon Labs. They need to know exactly where a cyborg's access port is and how to remove the chip in under two minutes."

"You seem to be fairly sure there'll be an attack."

"Not if we play our hands right, but we should take the necessary precautions. Right now, the Babylon labs aren't save enough. It is most important that we give John Henry the highest level of security we can come up with – and even more as time goes on. If our attack on Simdyne should fail and if we should lose the Connor team, our best hope lies with John Henry. He has to be defended at any cost."

"I don't like how you already calculate without them."

"I understand your reaction, James. It's human, and humans tend to have difficulties with opening their eyes to the inevitable. It's a virtue I can't afford, though. I'm already planning ahead, even for a worst-case scenario. I'm of course optimistic about the outcome of our little excursion next Saturday but what's that human proverb? Better be safe than sorry."

"I will see to it that all the necessary measures will be taken and that all updates will be installed until Friday," James said, realizing that he'd forgotten for a moment who he was dealing with.

"Thank you, James," Catherine replied smiling, "that'll be all for now."

He left the office. Catherine sat down behind her desk and began issuing rights of access for Morris. As soon as she had returned from Oregon in the morning, she'd visited him and his parents at their home in Van Nuys. If he was to become the man who would save her life, she might as well start training him straightaway.

His parents had still been very distraught from the raid of the gangsters. Catherine had explained to them that there was a foundation in her name that took care of crime victims and helped them overcome their trauma by assisting them financially – a foundation she had of course made up on the fly but that didn't matter. By noon such a foundation had been established and provided with a proper financial nest egg.

The important part was that Morris' parents agreed to let her take him as an intern for the summer holidays by offering to pay for his and his sister's college. Catherine had no interest in Morris' sister, but it would have raised questions if she had made an offer for him alone. His parents had been so delighted that they even agreed to letting Morris work night shifts. They probably thought it was better for him than playing computer games all night. It was important to have somebody watching over the TDDS as well as having someone for John Henry to talk to, helping him in his process of becoming more and more familiar with human nature. Besides, Matt Murch was already at his stress limit and had repeatedly asked for an assistant to support him. By assigning Morris to him, Catherine was beating two birds with one stone - even if for now the boy was just an intern.

Suddenly, she frowned and hesitated. Her infrared sensors told her that something had changed in the heat dispersion inside her office. There was movement of the air that wasn't caused by the air condition. She looked up from her PC and scanned the room.

"Whoever you are, you better come out right now!" she said loudly.

For a second, nothing happened, then a man in a strange-looking dark overall appeared from behind a corner. His face was concealed by a hood and a mirrored mask that he both took off as soon as he came into view.

"Took me a while to track you down," the man stated in a raspy voice. "You did well – for a liquid metal, that is."

He was in his late forties or early fifties and smiled at Catherine. Recognition dawned on her face, then she smiled as well.

"I wasn't expecting _you_ to be here," she said. "I'm impressed that you got past my security and into my office without anyone noticing, including me. What reason do I owe the honor of your visit?"

"A word of warning," the man replied with a serious face and took place in front of her desk, "and the lives of hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions who are at stake. Listen carefully, because what I have to say decides about the success or failure of your upcoming attack - and if you're going to survive it."

 **-0-**

"Lemme down, lemme down!" Mike screamed, his head turning red from hanging upside down.

Andy didn't say anything; his head was turning violet from oxygen deprivation while trying to get some air.

"They had this with them," Cameron said and showed John the DSLR camera with the zoom lens. "I believe they have been watching us."

John looked at the two boys with an angry expression, letting them dangle just a little bit more.

"Okay, let them down," he finally ordered. "But don't let them escape."

The girls let them fall carelessly to the wooden terrace floor where they landed with a dull thud and groaned in pain. Mike rubbed his head and Andy sucked in the air with a wheezing sound. Cameron pulled up Andy by his right upper arm and held him tight. Alison did the same with Mike's left upper arm. They tried to struggle loose but to no avail. Finally, they realized that they wouldn't be able to free themselves and stopped struggling.

"So," John said, "would you please be so kind as to explain to us what the hell you're doing here?"

No answer.

"Let me make one thing clear," John continued and slowly screwed the silencer onto the Glock, "we can end this issue _with_ or _without_ your help... but make no mistake, we _will_ end it."

The boys stared at him wide-eyed.

"It was _his_ idea!" Mike bursted out quickly. "He couldn't stand losing to the girls and decided to follow you to the cabin."

"Wussy," Andy said contemptuously. "You were very eager to bring your binoculars as well."

"I'm not interested in who's idea this was," John stated and pointed the Glock at Andy. "I want to know what you saw. And then we'll talk about the consequences."

"They saw a lot," Alison informed them as she was browsing through the memory chip of the camera she was holding in her hand. "And sometimes even down to the smallest detail."

"Who'd have thought you'd turn out to be ordinary peeping Toms in the end?" John asked, shaking his head.

"We're not peeping Toms!" Andy exclaimed indignantly.

"Oh, aren't you?" Alison asked smugly, holding the small screen of the camera in front of his face, showing a very detailed shot of her vagina.

"I… I can explain," he tried justifying himself.

"I suppose I don't have to stress that the decision as to whether and in what state of health you will leave this place, is entirely up to you?"

John wagged his Glock threateningly in front of their faces.

"Okay, okay, okay," Andy said hastily. "We followed you back to the cabin and then watched you… uh… _doing it_ together. And we saw her…" he pointed at Alison, "lifting you up and carry you out of the room like you were a rag doll. I decided to get my dad's camera, and when we came back, we saw them throwing the furniture around and, and…"

"THEY AREN'T HUMAN!" Mike shouted. "They're something else! Mutants or aliens or something like that!"

John sighed. This would be more difficult than he'd thought.. He looked at the girls and both said the same thing in unison:

"Bummer."

 **-0-**

"Are you absolutely sure?" Catherine asked.

"Yes," the middle-aged man in the funny-looking overall replied. "I saw it being unloaded and buried in a cloak-and-dagger operation. They must have somehow smuggled it into the country in the turmoil of the early Nineties."

"So, Kaliba is much more involved in the whole process than we thought."

"Indeed. But not in all of it, and they have very different priorities. Our enemies mistrust each other deeply and only exchange as much information as is absolutely necessary. In effect, Kaliba doesn't know about the Grays' plans, the Grays don't know about Kaliba's plans, and the Air Force guys who work with both of them don't know about either, probably having some ulterior motives of their own. Everyone has their own agenda. While the Grays wanna make sure Judgement Day happens, Kaliba is mainly looking for financial profit and the Air Force wants to have the technological edge. The only person who has the complete picture, is Adam Jacobsen. He's the connection between all three parties. Nothing works without him. Therefore it's good that you took him out of the equation."

"You know about that?"

"I know about almost everything that's going on. You're not the only one with a direct link to the future."

"What you told me, means a great risk for our plan."

"It does. But I have a solution. Although it won't be exactly very popular among your allies."

"I'm listening."

"Can I trust you to be absolutely discreet about it? They mustn't know until the very end, especially John. Under no circumstances must he suspect anything beforehand."

"You can trust me."

The man told her his plan. When he was finished, Catherine looked visibly surprised.

"And you planned all that in advance?"

"I did," the man confirmed. "As I said, you're not the only one who gets information from the future."

"I won't tell them," Catherine assured.

"Good."

The man rose.

"I need to go now, we will meet again before the end. And remember… he has to die in exactly the right moment. You'll know when it comes."

Catherine just nodded and then watched the man leave her office. His plan was brilliant. If it worked, it would not only mean the end of the Skynet project, but also the dawn of a new era... And to make it work, she had to withhold information from John and his team...

So much for absolute openness.

 **-0-**

"We should kill them," Cameron stated coldly.

"Yes, they're a threat", Alison agreed.

"No! No-no-no-no… please!" Mike begged, fearfully staring into Alison's red eyes.

"You can't be serious!" Andy gasped, and then added more composed, "you're bluffing."

"Are we?" John asked and fired a shot into the grass. "This gun is real and you two are in really deep trouble."

To underline John's words, Alison crushed the telephoto lens of the camera in her hand, which caused Mike's jeans beginning to darken.

"Oh God," he gasped and broke into tears.

"Fuck!" Andy exclaimed, "that lens cost more than five thousand dollars! My dad's gonna kill me! You're going to pay for that!"

"Seriously? Is that your only concern?" John asked perplexed.

"I think Mike just wetted himself," Alison observed. "Also, he's started to hyperventilate and his pulse his beyond what is healthy. Any more and he's going to faint."

"Okay, okay, okay," Andy said hastily. "You made your point. It was wrong to follow you, wrong to film you, it was a huge mistake. Got it. Now how can we make a deal that satisfies both sides?"

"A fault confessed is half redressed," John stated with a smirk. "But before I can make a decision, let me see first what you recorded."

Alison handed him the camera and he started browsing through the pictures and the video recordings. Both Andy and Mike watched him with growing apprehension while the two cyborg girls remained stoic as usual.

"Alright," John said after he had watched it all. "I suppose one could say you have a heightened interest in classical ballet but somehow I doubt it. However, I think I've found a solution for our little problem."

"What are you going to do?" Andy asked warily.

"Please don't kill us," Mike muttered under tears, visibly on the verge of breaking down. "Please… please don't kill us…"

"I'm going to do a little photo session of my own," John replied. "Cam, Alison, would you please help them with undressing?"

"What? No-no-no, don't touch me!" Andy exclaimed.

"You have two choices," Cameron said. " Either you take your clothes off or we'll rip them off your bodies."

Hesitantly, both boys complied and took off their clothes. It was a strange picture on the terrace: Two naked boys, being held by two naked girls with red-glowing eyes.

"Alright, boys," John stated. "Here's what you're going to do now…"

 **-0-**

"Miss Weaver?"

"Yes, Charlotte?" Catherine replied to the voice on her intercom.

"There are two gentlemen from the police here to see you."

Catherine frowned.

"Okay, send them in please."

Two men entered her office. One was an elderly, experienced-looking African American, the other one was a young white officer, probably a rookie.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," Catherine said politely.

"Um… good afternoon, Miss Weaver," the older of the two responded, holding out an LAPD badge. "I'm detective Hooper and this is officer Meadows."

"How do you do?" she shook hands with them. "Please, sit down. Would you like something to drink? Tea? Coffee? Water? Something else?"

"Uh… no, thanks," detective Hooper answered. "This won't take long."

The two police officers sat down on the sofa, looking around in the office, partly impressed by the vastness of it and the tasteful, modern interior but mainly because there was no trace anymore of the drone attack that had gone through the headlines.

"We're sorry to bother you after your recent traumatic experiences," officer Meadows added.

"You mean the accident with the drone and the attempted kidnapping of my daughter?"

"Uh... yes," Hooper said.

"Life goes on," Catherine replied with a sigh, "and I have a big company to run. What can I do for you?"

Taking the hint that she was rather busy, detective Hooper spoke up.

"We're here on behalf of the Mill City Sheriff's office. That's Mill City in Oregon. They have asked the LAPD for assistance. Apparently, you were seen near a crime scene in the outskirts of a town called Gates this morning."

"Gates?" Catherine asked. "Yes, I was there today. But I didn't notice any crime scene."

Officer Meadows produced a notepad and a pen.

"How did you get there and back so quickly?"

"I used my private helicopter."

"That's quite a hop with a helicopter. You must have started very early in the morning. Not to mention the drive to the airport and back. Must have been stressful."

"Not at all. Since the drone attack, I'm lagging behind with my work and spend most of my nights here at the office, catching up on work. I was taking one of my company's prototypes this morning. It's parked on the roof, in case you want to take a look, and it's a newly developed hybrid, with two propellers in addition to the usual rotor. It has a top speed of 250 miles per hour and a traveling speed of 220 mph. Took me a bit over four hours in each direction, and the autopilot was doing most of the work. I had time to relax."

"I see," Hooper commented. "What were you doing there, if you don't mind the question?"

"A friend of mine spends the summer breaks in Oregon with his family. He recommended me the area. I've been looking for a weekend house in the woods for some time. So, Oregon came to my attention and I wanted to take a look around the area to see if there was any real estate for sale or if you could buy land where you can build houses without a lot of regulations. Gates is just one of the destinations I picked. It has a golf course and a nearby airfield. I'm planning to check out other areas up there as well."

"I see," Hooper said. "Did you notice any abnormal activities while you were there?"

"Well, before I left again for the local air field, there was a cloud of smoke coming from one of the properties I passed, and I was about to call 911 but I had no phone signal. Then the fire brigade already came from the opposite direction. So I didn't report it. What happened there? Was that the crime scene you mentioned?"

"Did you see anyone else on that road, Miss Weaver?" Meadows asked without answering her question.

"The only car I saw, was an old pickup truck some time earlier, after I had just arrived. It came out of the road I was turning into, so we passed each other rather closely. There were two men in it. They turned right, towards the town center."

"Can you describe the vehicle and the people inside?"

"I'm not too familiar with cars," Catherine said, "all I can tell is that it was bicolored in metallic blue and silver. The two men inside looked tall and muscular, they wore plaid shirts and baseball caps."

The two officers looked at each other. Catherine knew it was the truck of the unfortunate owner of the bunker and her description of the two Triple-Eights fit to the description that, according to the local news, the only eye-witness had given - a drunkard that had seen the theft of the thermite in Mill City.

"Anyone else you saw there this morning?" Hooper asked.

"Well, now that you mention it, detective, yes, a black pickup truck was behind me when I drove back to the airfield. A newer model, but frankly I didn't pay much attention to it. It was gone when I reached the airfield again."

"Was it this one?"

Meadows produced a printout of a photo that looked like it was taken from a driving car. It showed the Connor's Dodge RAM, but it was unfocussed.

"Could be," Catherine said. "It's very blurry, don't you have a better picture?"

"Unfortunately not," Hooper replied and sighed. "Was taken from a dashcam recording onboard the sheriff's car, and the road there is bumpy. They were able to identify your rental but the only thing they could make out on the number plate of the RAM is that it's registered in California. It's all we have, we hoped you might have more information."

"I'm sorry that I can't be of more help."

"One last question, Miss Weaver," Meadows asked.

" _Now it comes,"_ Catherine thought.

"The rental company washed your car as a standard procedure after you had returned it. The clerk said it was very dirty, as if it had been driven through mud. It hasn't rained there for three days, the roads are dry. But the ground is still wet and muddy off the roads, on unpaved forest roads under the shadows of trees for example. Have you been off-roading, Miss Weaver?"

"I drove along some unpaved roads while scouting the area, yes... why is that important?"

"The local police found tire tracks at the crime scene that match with the tires on your rental," Meadows replied.

"Well, I'm quite sure that many cars have such tires, haven't they?" Catherine asked with a frown. "What are you getting at, officer?"

"He's getting at nothing," Hooper quickly said. "Anyway, you helped making things a little clearer."

He rose and Meadows followed his motion.

"Thank you for your time, Miss Weaver. We'll get back to you if we have any further questions."

"Of course. I'm glad if I can help solving a crime."

They shook hands, said their goodbyes and then Catherine was alone in her office again. She didn't like what she had heard. Sure, the chances for linking that blurry picture of a black Dodge RAM to the Connors were slim. It was a very common vehicle after all. But better be safe than sorry. She reached for her cellphone.

* * *

"Why did you cut me off like that, Ike?" officer Meadows asked when they were riding down in the elevator. "Don't tell me you believe her."

"I'm not sure," Hooper replied. "Something about her story is off but I can't put my finger on it. Maybe she was at the crime scene and saw something or maybe she wasn't. She's got a really good poker face, I'll give her that. _If_ she lied, then she's a damn good liar."

"Then why'd you stop me from pressing on it?"

"Because Catherine Weaver is a hot potato. If you try to touch her, you might get burned. She has the best lawyers money can buy and excellent contacts in Washington and in the military. She's on a first name basis with senators and generals. You don't bother such a person unless you have absolutely conclusive evidence. Maybe something happened up there in Oregon that the FBI and the local police have trouble understanding. But we're in L.A. and this city has other, more immediate problems. You know very well that the cases are piling up on our desks and that we're massively understaffed. Let the FBI and the boys in Oregon do their job and let's keep our noses out of it."

"But you think she has more to do with this than she wants to admit? And that she might be involved?"

"Everything's possible, Joe… but we'd have to dig very deep and it's not our case. We were just asked to talk to her, ask her a couple of questions. And that we did."

"And what about our responsibility to get to the bottom of things? Don't we have a professional obligation to investigate?"

Hooper sighed.

"This isn't a Hollywood movie, Joe. I'm too old to risk my pension with stunts like that. I'm not Roger Murtaugh and you're not Martin Riggs, so let's forget it, okay?"

 **-0-**

"Okay, here's the deal," John said, browsing through the pictures he had just taken of Andy and Mike. "You won't tell anyone what you saw here today, nor will you tell anyone about what you saw us doing. As a matter of fact, you will not mention anything of us ever again to anyone. Understood?"

Both boys nodded, looking beaten and degraded while putting their clothes back on.

"If you keep your end of the bargain, these pictures will remain with us," John continued and pulled the chip out of the camera. "However, if you get second thoughts and we find out that you spilled your guts, these pictures will miraculously find their way onto the internet, where your family, your friends, the people from your home town, your high school or your college will definitely find them. We'll keep you on our radar."

"Understood," Andy said gloomily.

"So, if you want to avoid being publicly exposed and branded as a gay couple, you better keep your mouths shut. Otherwise we might also be paying you a visit in… where do they come from again?"

"Fresno," Cameron and Alison replied simultaneously.

"In Fresno," John confirmed and held out the camera to Andy, who reluctantly grabbed it. "Remember, we have your addresses, phone numbers, everything."

"What am I going to tell my dad about the broken telephoto lens?" Andy asked.

"Say it fell down on the road and got run over by a car," John suggested with a shrug.

Andy nodded weakly, then both boys turned to leave. Before they left the terrace, however, Andy turned around once more.

"So, what are they?" he asked. "They can't be human. You can as well tell us now, can't you?"

"They are cyborgs," John replied. "Cybernetic organisms. Living tissue over a metal endoskeleton. They're machines, sent from the future to protect me." He looked at the girls. "And to love me".

Both Cameron and Alison beamed at him, their eyes returning to normal, but Mike was even more confused, and Andy seemed to think he just got his leg pulled. However, they decided to not ask any further questions and left the premises, looking crestfallen. As soon as they were out of earshot, John and the girls broke out into laughter.

"Did you see their faces?" Alison asked.

"I'm surprised Andy didn't wet himself as well." Cameron added.

"They will avoid us from now on, I reckon," John said.

Slowly, the laughter faded. Suddenly a faint ringtone could be heard.

"That's my phone," Alison stated and went inside.

"So, what are you going to do with the film they made?" Cameron asked. "Are you going to delete it?"

"I think not," John said grinning. "I actually kinda like it."

"You perv," she replied smugly, and John chuckled.

Then she bent down and kissed him lovingly. After a couple of minutes, Alison returned.

"That was Catherine," she informed them. "There's something you should know."

 **-0-**

"Did you hide the weapons?" Sarah asked John and the girls at the restaurant where they had met for dinner.

Alison had just filled everyone in about Catherine's call and the visit she'd had by the LAPD.

"Yes, we put them in the safe," John replied, "you should hide your big guns as well before you come over for the girls' performance, just to be safe."

"Will do," Derek said. "What about the truck? Any traces of mud?"

"No, we checked," Alison stated. "The forest road we parked on was muddy but unlike Catherine we didn't spin the wheels. Four-wheel-drive. There was a bit of dirt, but we washed it off with a sponge and water. "

"Good. What about your shoes?" Sarah asked.

"Cleaned," Cameron said. "And we immediately threw our clothes into the washing machine as well."

"Well, that should do it," Derek declared. "Now pass me the menu please. I think I'll have a steak."

* * *

The rest of the dinner went by uneventful. Everyone had ordered à la carte. John and the girls looked out for Andy and Mike but couldn't spot them. Derek and Charley told them about their attempt at playing Golf and that it would take a lot of time and practice to make it a worthwhile pastime. Lauren had slept for a couple of hours and Sarah had taken care of Sydney while reading a book in a lounger on their cabin's back porch.

"So, what are you going to perform tonight?" Charley asked.

"A couple of scenes from Swan Lake," Alison replied.

"Ah, Tchaikovsky, I like his music."

"I've never been too much into classical music," Derek stated. "I only know some of it from TV commercials, to be honest."

"Well, I admit I've not been a great fan so far as well," John said, "but the girls like it and that's reason enough for me to listen to it."

Both Cameron and Alison smiled warmly at him.

 **-0-**

While the Connors had dinner, Andy and Mike met in Mike's cabin. They were alone because both their parents went out hiking and wouldn't return until later. The TV was running, and Andy was furiously walking to and fro in the room, thinking about how to get back at John and the girls for their humiliation.

"Can't you simply leave it at that?" Mike said quite unnerved. "Let's be glad we got out of it with life and limb intact."

Andy stared at him.

"Maybe you can be okay with them having such pictures of us, but I won't leave it at that. I want those pictures. I want our chip back."

"They have guns," Mike stated. "And the girls are really dangerous. You saw what they can do. You saw their eyes. John said they're cyborgs."

"And you believe that bullshit?" Andy replied aggressively. "They were probably on drugs or something like that. It is known that certain drugs heighten physical strength. The army made such experiments. Or maybe it was some trick... like magicians to them on the stage in Vegas. But cyborgs? That kind of technology doesn't exist yet. Cyborgs my ass."

"Alright, alright. But what do you wanna do? We can't show up there anymore, they'll probably kill us. They are dangerous people."

Suddenly Andy stopped and reached for the TV remote.

"Check that out," He said and turned up the volume, so they could listen to the female reporter of a local TV station who stood in front of a steaming concrete building and spoke into a microphone she was hold in her hand.

"… _remains a mystery. A_ _ll that is known so far, is that Mr. and Mrs. Baker were probably killed in their sleep and that their private bunker was torched by a hundred kilograms of thermite, which was stolen from a railway depot in Mill City early in the morning._

 _Within the now heavily damaged bunker, a fire burned at a temperature of up to 2,500 degrees Celsius, enough to burn and vaporize every substance known to man. It was so hot that the concrete melted off the walls and it will take days until it has completely cooled down again. In front of the bunker, the police found evidence of a heavy gunfight with automatic weapons that were probably stolen from a local gun store in Mill City early this morning. The heavy shooting, the cloud of smoke and what was described as 'explosions', were the reason the fire brigade and the police arrived at the scene half an hour later._

 _Apart from the other evidence at the scene, the police also found indications that some yet unknown type of ammunition might have been used. A chunk of concrete was blown out of the bunker's wall, about the size of a frying pan. Weapons experts say it is the result of gunfire but also that there is no ammunition in existence for a handheld gun that can cause that kind of damage – which would mean we're probably dealing with military spec weaponry here. The FBI has been notified and will probably take over the investigations._

 _Again, we show you the car that might have been involved in the shooting, a black 2008 Dodge RAM with a California license plate. If you have seen a car like this near Gates or Mill City, please notify the nearest police station."_

"The Baums have such a truck!" Andy exclaimed.

"Yes, the Baums and about a million more in California. I have seen more than one of such trucks even here at the lodge. The owner for instance has one."

"But not with a California license plate."

"Andy, please, leave them alone. We're already into more trouble than we can handle. They're here to spend their holidays, so let them."

"Are you sure about that?" Andy asked with a smirk. "Maybe they're here for more than just holidays."

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno… but there's only one way to find out,.

Andy walked towards the entrance door.

"Where are you going?"

"Looking for a public phone."

Mike sighed, then hesitantly followed him.

 **-0-**

Sheriff Nick Nelson had been looking forward to tonight's rearranged match. The Seattle Seahawks played against the San Francisco 49ers. Everyone else was at home, watching the game. It would be a quiet night in the small town of Sisters, named after the Three Sisters, a row of three prominent volcanos nearby. Not that anything ever happened in Deschutes County anyway. He'd given the rest of his crew the evening off, put his feet onto his desk and started to watch the game on his office TV - when suddenly the telephone rang.

"You gotta be kidding me," he muttered under his breath, as he turned down the TV's volume and picked up the receiver. "Sheriff's office, how can I help you?"

"Is that the local police now?" a male voice asked. "I've been transferred to you."

"Sheriff's office in Sisters," Nelson replied. "Who am I speaking to?"

"I'd like to report something," the voice said, and Nelson thought that it sounded a little strange, as if somebody attempted to disguise his voice by using a deeper pitch.

"What would you like to report, sir?" Nelson asked with a frown.

"I saw the news on TV. That pickup truck the police are looking for? It's here."

Nelson quickly took the feet off his desk.

"Where is 'here'?" he asked. "And what's your name?"

"My name's Wilson. I saw the truck entering the Jefferson Lodge at 9 o'clock in the morning. A black Dodge RAM with California license plate 1EAG541. It belongs to a guy named John Baum. He's extremely dangerous. He and his sisters are carrying weapons."

"How do you know that, sir?" Nelson asked, thinking it must be a hoax.

"He threatened me. With a gun. Told me he would kill me if I told anyone what I saw."

Nelson sighed. Strictly speaking, Jefferson Lodge was out of his jurisdiction, because it was in the neighboring county. However, the responsible sheriff's office was much farer away from the place. So, they had probably transferred the call to him because he was only fourteen miles away. And probably also because they didn't want to miss the game. So much for support between colleagues. Looked like it was up to him.

 **-0-**

Cameron's and Alison's ballet performance was a great success with everyone. They did a selection of scenes and dances from Swan Lake, with Cameron impersonating Prince Siegfried and Alison performing as Odette and Odile. Even to the untrained eye, it was obvious that their performance was on a par, if not better than what the finest of international ballet companies had to offer – mainly because of their physical superiority and their perfect body control.

"When the hell did they turn into such great ballet performers?" Sarah whispered to John.

"You know, mom. They don't sleep," John replied with a smile and got an annoyed look in return.

"Shhh", Charley uttered, apparently immensely enjoying the experience.

 **-0-**

Sheriff Nelson arrived at the Jefferson Lodge twenty-five minutes after the call. He knew the lodge's owner personally and had already called him to ask if he had noticed something out of the ordinary. But there hadn't been anything, so he decided to drive up there, even though it would probably ruin his evening.

He'd parked his patrol car at cabin 11, gotten out and now walked along the driveway. From somewhere behind the cabin, classical music was wafting towards him. It swelled and ebbed again, depending on how the wind blew. His eyes immediately fell on the black Dodge RAM parked in the driveway. He walked around it and checked it for any trace of mud, but the coating was spotless and the tires clean. He reached inside the wheel arches and found some traces of dried-up mud there. He pulled out a pocket knife and scraped a bit of it into a small plastic bag with a zip clasp. He then took a couple of pictures of the car with his cellphone and looked inside, but nothing out of the ordinary could be seen. He'd check the license plate later, just to be sure.

The classical music had stopped, and he could hear hands clapping. Voices shouted "Bravo!" and "Encore!" and there were a few whistles. Then some more classical music started playing. Nelson walked towards the entrance door and knocked but there was no reaction. He decided to go around the cabin and see if he could meet with the occupants there.

He expected a lot of things when turning around the final corner towards the terrace of the cabin but not what he witnessed at that moment: Two teenage girls, apparently twins, were giving a ballet performance in front of five people and a baby. It took him a moment to take in that strange scene. He didn't have much time to think about it, though, because he was spotted just a moment later. The dancing stopped, and all heads turned in his direction. One of the dancing girls stopped the music. Suddenly there was an eerie silence.

"Can we help you, officer?" a dark-haired woman in her late thirties asked him.

Nelson thought her face looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Um… sorry for the intrusion, ma'am, I knocked but I suppose nobody heard me."

"That's alright," the dark-haired woman said. "How can we help you?"

"Uh… my name's Nick Nelson, ma'am, I'm from the Sisters' sheriff's office. Are you the occupants of this cabin?"

"My son and my daughters are," she replied and then, as an afterthought, "I'm sorry, where are my manners? My name is Sarah Baum, this is my fiancé, Charley Dixon, this is my brother-in-law, Derek Reese, his daughters Lauren and baby Sydney. These lovely girls on the terrace are my daughters, Alison and Cameron and last but not least here's my son, John. We gathered here tonight for a private ballet performance. We occupy two more cabins in this lodge."

"I see," Nelson said and pulled out a notepad and a pen, "I'm really sorry to interrupt but I received a call concerning your vehicle. The black Dodge RAM parked in front is yours, I presume?"

"Yes," Derek answered. "it's registered in my name, but John and the girls are using it now. We have our own car at our cabin."

"Is something wrong with the truck?" Charley asked.

"Uh, no sir," the sheriff replied, "it was probably just a prank, but I received a call that says your car was spotted at a crime scene early this morning."

"You mean the one that was mentioned on the news?" John asked.

"Uh, yes, so you have seen it, young man?"

"We watched the news during breakfast," Sarah said. "But we just arrived from L.A. last night and slept until half past eight in the morning. It was an exhausting drive up here."

"I'm sure it was. I have to ask this, but do you have any witnesses that can confirm your statement?"

"Only us," John responded. "I mean Cameron and Alison were with me, in a separate bedroom of course, Mom and Charley were in their cabin and uncle Derek was with Lauren and the baby. In the morning, we met for breakfast in the restaurant around 9 o'clock."

"The waitress can surely confirm that," Sarah added.

"9 o'clock you say?"

"Yes," John replied, "actually, we were there a few minutes earlier, walking to the restaurant from our cabin."

"I will of course have to check on that. Do you carry any weapons, by the way?" Nelson asked.

"Weapons?" Sarah asked indignantly, "No, we're strict against carrying firearms."

"We hate violence," John stated, looking at the girls. "Ain't that right?"

"Yes, we hate violence," Cameron confirmed.

"Violence solves no problems, it only creates new ones," Alison added.

"Did you have any trouble with other guests?" Nelson asked, frowning a little upon the answers.

"No, not to my knowledge," Derek answered.

"Apart from the two boys that tried to hit on Cam and Alison," John pointed out. "First the girls won against them at ping pong, darts and pool, and when they tried to hit on them, they were rebuffed. They didn't take the rejection too well."

"Do you have their names?"

"Just first names. Andy and Mike. But we know they occupy cabins 17 and 18 with their parents. They're two befriended families who spend their holidays together."

Sarah, Derek, Lauren and Charley looked at each other with mild surprise, because all they remembered was that the two boys had behaved quite politely. But none of them said a word in the presence of the sheriff, who looked down on his notepad and sighed.

"All right, looks like it was a prank call after all. Just out of interest, how long are you going to stay here?"

"We're leaving Friday morning," Sarah answered.

"Friday…" Nelson repeated and wrote it down. "Okay… thank you very much. I apologize for my intrusion. Enjoy your stay. Seems like the damn prankster ruined my evening. I missed most of the game by now."

"Don't be too hard on the boys," Derek appeased. "I'm sure they didn't mean any harm."

"I'll have to sleep it over," Nelson replied. "Goodnight everyone."

"Goodnight," they all said in a choir.

The Sheriff returned to his car.

"He's gone," Alison said, listening to the sound of the patrol car driving off.

"What the hell was that about?" Derek asked.

"Is there anything you'd like to tell us?" Sarah added.

"Let's just say that Andy and Mike turned out to be quite the stalkers. We had to chase them away. I'll tell you later."

Charley looked at Alison and Cameron.

"You're unusually quiet. What happened to your _'he's a threat, we need to kill him'_ routine?"

"We can't kill him," Cameron stated.

"He's Nick Nelson, aged thirty-four," Alison explained. "He'll become the leader of the combined resistance forces of the states of Oregon and Washington, directly under your command. One of your most trusted and most valuable officers."

"Is that true, Derek?" Sarah asked and looked at him.

"Well... yeah... now that you mention it," he replied. "There was a colonel Nelson from up north. I only saw him once, though, and he was in his early fifties then. But to be honest, I don't remember his face."

"Okay, that rules out getting rid of him," John said. "But he could still become a problem for us. We…"

His phone rang, and John picked it up.

"Call from Catherine again," he said, took the call and typed in the safety code. "Hello, Catherine, what's up? … What!? Where? … When? … No, I doubt it's after us, but I have an idea who it could be after … Yes, can you give me the link and the password? … Sure … Yes, we'll be careful … Bye."

John looked at them.

"Catherine sends me a URL and a password for the TDDS, so I can follow it online on my laptop on a secure connection. There has been another time bubble about fifteen miles from here ten minutes ago. Only one time traveler this time, probably a cyborg."

"Could it be it's after the sheriff?" Lauren queried.

"That's a logical assumption," Cameron said.

"Why tonight, though?" John asked. "Isn't that too much of a coincidence? I mean, seriously... Skynet is sending another Terminator into this area while we're here and able to stop it? That's extremely stupid. To me, that smells like another trap, this time maybe for us?"

"I don't think so," Alison replied. "One Triple-Eight represents no danger to us. If Skynet knew we were here, it would have sent at least half a dozen to make sure we're being wiped out. No, I think there's a causal link to what's been happening ever since we arrived, starting in Gates this morning."

"What do you mean?"

"Skynet can only track down its enemies through time by the surviving records of their whereabouts. The FBI database is one of the records that survived Judgement Day. Sheriff Nelson will probably file a report about his trip here tonight, and it will probably be added to the FBI's file on the case in Gates. So, Skynet knows where Nick Nelson was tonight and at which time."

"But we erased that timeline," John argued, "the timeline Morris came from, no longer exists."

"Until we haven't successfully destroyed the pre-Skynet A.I.," Alison explained, "it's still possible that Judgement Day happens. Perhaps this is still the predetermined outcome of this timeline - unless something unforeseen happens, an unknown factor that throws events over. The future is constantly in motion. We'll know more on Sunday."

"This is confusing," Lauren said.

"We need to help him," John stated. "Cam, Alison, get rid of your ballet gear and put on some proper clothing. Then go and get Andy and Mike. Knock them out if you must but bring them with you, alive. Do it quietly, don't draw any attention. Don't forget your guns. We meet at the entrance of the lodge. Hurry, we don't have much time."

Both girls ran into the house to change.

"John, what are you doing?" Sarah asked.

"Saving the sheriff," he said and sighed. "The girls and I are going."

"We come as well," Sarah replied and rose.

"No!" John denied categorically, and Sarah was taken aback by the authority in her son's voice. "We have to keep a low profile here, mom. We're on a holiday, remember? Cam, Alison and I are going. We had no problem with three Triple-Eights, so we won't have any trouble with one. Besides, going back to your cabin and gearing up would take too much time."

"But why are you taking the boys with you?" Sarah asked.

John looked at the slowly setting sun.

"They didn't listen, probably thought we were bluffing. So, now I'm going to try killing two birds with one stone and make sure they understand what's at stake."

 **-0-**

Nick Nelson was slowly cruising back to his office in Sisters, hoping to be back in time to at least see the end of the game. The sun was setting in the west and thanks to the forest that stretched right and left along the highway, it was already dark on the road, which at that time of day was almost completely deserted. He'd left the Black Butte Ranch behind and after a long right-hand bend, the road was going straight ahead until Sisters, as if it had been drawn with a ruler.

Suddenly, he noticed a shadow in his rear-view mirror. He looked closer and saw an unlit vehicle approaching very fast from behind. Nick didn't have time to wonder what that meant because suddenly he was rammed from behind at high speed. He struggled to keep his patrol car on the road. It was swerving wildly and only thanks to the ESP he was able to keep it under control. He hadn't recovered from the shock and was about to reach for his radio to call for assistance, when the next impact made him grab his steering wheel with both hands again and nearly shoved him off the road and into the trees. Now fully concentrated and with both hands on the wheel, Nelson watched his rear-view mirror and saw the vehicle, an older Ford F-150, getting closer again, ready for the third – and probably final – strike.

But in the final second before the impact, Nelson abruptly steered to the left and hit the brakes. The pickup truck had too much momentum and shot past him on the right, hitting its brakes hard as well. Nelson reversed and did a J-turn, throwing his car into the opposite direction, then hit full throttle, hoping that his powerful patrol car would outrun the attacker. He saw in the mirrors that the pickup truck made a U-turn and took up pursuit again. Nelson was quickly able to put half a mile between him and the pursuer. For the first time that evening, he regretted having sent everyone from his crew home. So, reinforcement was not an option but even if there would have been someone at the sheriff's office, they wouldn't arrive in time. When he drove over a crest, he hit the brakes hard and turned into a forest road he knew was there before the pickup truck came over the crest as well. As soon as he was off the highway, he switched off his lights, made a U-turn, turned off the engine, pulled out his gun, left the car and hid behind a tree thirty feet away. There he waited.

It was getting dark quickly now and he asked himself what the attacker had in mind and what his motivation was for trying to ram him off the road. Was it personal or just some maniac who'd chosen a random target? Nelson saw the Ford F-150 pass the junction at an estimated eighty miles an hour, then heard screeching tires. _"Good, he's taken the bait,"_ he thought. He heard the howling noise of the truck reversing at high speed, then stopping right in front of the junction that led to his position. The whole situation somehow reminded Nick of the movie "Duel", in which a business commuter was being chased by a massive tractor-trailer for no apparent reason.

For a moment, the mystery driver seemed to consider his next action. Then the truck turned into the forest road, slowly closing in on where Nick had parked his car. In the distance, he heard another vehicle coming down the road, apparently vastly exceeding the speed limit. _"Lucky bastard,"_ he thought, _"looks like he won't get a speeding ticket from me tonight."_

The Ford F-150 stopped right in front of the patrol car. Nick had his gun at the ready and was waiting for the driver to leave his truck. Then he heard how the other car that had just flown by on the highway, hit the brakes hard. He could tell because the anti-lock brakes struggled to get it to a halt. Then it seemed to make a U-turn, heading back towards the junction. It entered the forest road with all lights ablaze on high beam, momentarily blinding Nelson. Was that a Dodge RAM?

He could now see that his attacker had left the Ford pickup truck and was standing by his patrol car, scanning the area. It was a tall, muscular man in cowboy boots, blue jeans and a red shirt. The man ignored the other car completely, tilted his head, then suddenly paused and started walking into Nelson's direction. Nick squinted. Did his eyes shine red? The stranger pulled out a gun and shot in Nick's direction. Bullet after bullet hit the tree he was hiding behind. Wood and bark chipped off in all directions.

Nick waited until the attacker's magazine was empty, then jumped out from behind the tree and immediately opened fire at the man. But the bullets had no effect. The attacker jerked a bit but kept walking straight at him, calmly reloading his gun with a new magazine.

 _"Is he on drugs or why doesn't he go down?"_ was all Nelson could think, realizing that he would be dead within the next seconds. Suddenly, a figure jumped between him and the attacker. It was a red-headed girl, one of those ballet-dancing twin sisters. Why was she dressed in what looked like combat attire now? And what was she doing here?

Within a second, the attacker opened fire and emptied his magazine, but instead of hitting Nelson, he hit the girl that had jumped into the line of fire. To the sheriff's surprise, she also didn't go down and was completely unimpressed by the bullets. Instead, she tackled the man and pushed him to the ground. This produced a strange sound, a loud thud, as if someone had hit a filled oil barrel with a rubber mallet. Was that guy… armored?

Nelson noticed movement behind him. He whirled around and out of reflex fired another shot. He immediately realized he had hit the second Baum girl.

"Oh shit!" Nelson said and lowered his gun, believing he accidentally killed her.

In spite of the falling darkness, he saw a dark stain of blood appear on the girl's chest but other than tilting her head a bit, she didn't react. Instead, she raised a huge hand gun and pointed it at him.

"GET DOWN! NOW!" Cameron shouted, and Nick Nelson, unable to grasp what was happening, simply let himself fall.

He turned his head and saw that the other girl had pushed the attacker about ten feet away from herself.

"NOW, SIS!" Alison shouted, and Cameron fired her ATG.

Immediately, Nelson felt as if his eardrums had burst from the loud bang and his ears started ringing. He looked around and saw the attacker hesitate, then look down at the hole in his chest with an expression of surprise before he keeled over and fell down on the forest floor - lifeless.

"GET THE CHIP, MAYBE WE'RE LUCKY THIS TIME," John shouted.

He got out of the RAM and walked towards them. Behind him in the truck, gagged and bound, sat Andy and Mike on the back seats, eyes wide open and trembling with fear while breathing heavily. Alison produced a switch blade and made the incision to get to the CPU of the destroyed Triple-Eight.

Nelson stood up, feeling a little numb, and walked towards Alison on shaky legs, switching on his flashlight. The light cone of the lamp shone on the lifeless body of the attacker and Nick saw Alison removing a part of his scalp. Underneath it was shiny metal! She popped a cap open with a hissing sound, as if someone had opened a bottle of sparkling soda, then pulled out something that looked like a computer chip.

"What in the name of all that's holy…?" Nick asked totally perplexed and let the light of his torch wander over the lifeless body.

He saw that apart from a big hole in the center of his chest, the man had several smaller bullet wounds but only miniscule blood stains around them. He also saw with horror that underneath those bullet holes, there was shiny metal as well. Nick heard a strange fizzing sound and shone his light on Alison again, where he saw how the chip she'd just pulled out seemed to disintegrate within seconds..

"Aw, too bad," John stated, who had reached them. "I thought we could keep one of them for a change. Are you okay, Alison? Cam?"

Alison stood up and Nick Nelson saw that she had nine bullet wounds in her torso, but they didn't seem to bother her at all. He also saw she had a deep scratch on her forehead and with a shock realized that she too had a metal skull underneath her flesh.

"I'm fine," Alison said a little annoyed. "But I can't wear the bikini tomorrow."

"Neither can I", Cameron agreed and walked past the sheriff with an accusing expression on her face. "He shot me right in the chest."

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?" Nelson shouted, having trouble to compose himself. "Who are… WHAT are you? Answer me. NOW!"

He pointed his gun at Cameron, who simply wrenched it from his hand with a quick move and gave him an annoyed look. Nick stared at her in shock.

"Calm down, sheriff. Please." John said and held his hands out in an appeasing gesture. "We'll explain everything to you. Let me get the boys first, they need to see and hear this as well."

 **-0-**

Nick Nelson, Andy and Mike listened to what John told them with increasing awe and bewilderment. All things considered, they took it rather well. After what had happened, the sheriff didn't even react very surprised to the fact that Sarah and John Connor were actually alive and not dead. At least he now knew why her face looked familiar to him.

"So… you… really aren't… human?" Mike asked Cameron, who had just pulled the second last bloody bullet out of Alison's body.

"Living tissue over a metal endoskeleton," Cameron replied in a bored tone without looking at Mike. "As John has already told you at the lodge."

Would they ever get over explaining that to humans? Probably not.

Sheriff Nelson watched what she did in utter amazement.

"I… I'm either gonna be sick right now or I'm going to need a drink," he stated, and John saw that his hands were shaking.

"Maybe you shouldn't drive anymore tonight," Alison said empathically. "You seem quite upset."

"QUITE UPSET?" Nelson shouted. "QUITE UPSET? A FUCKING ROBOT FROM THE FUTURE JUST TRIED TO KILL ME AND TWO OTHER ROBOTS FROM THE FUTURE SAVED MY LIFE!"

"Cyborgs!" John, Cameron and Alison corrected simultaneously and looked at each other with a grin.

"Whatever…" sheriff Nelson replied. "What am I gonna do now? I'm representing the law here. By any means, I should arrest you. But what do I write in my report? I can't put down the truth, can I? I can't state that a killer rob... cyborg from the future tried to kill me because after a nuclear holocaust, I'll become an important figure in the human resistance. They would declare me insane and send me to a funny farm... And would I be correct in assuming that you three were in Gates this morning after all?"

"You would be correct," John said. "We drove there to save the life of a close friend of ours, Miss Catherine Weaver. I'm quite sure you have heard her name before."

"Yes, she was there this morning as well. Local police told me. What does she have to do with all this?"

"Three of those," John pointed at the dead Triple-Eight, "set up a trap for Catherine at the bunker of that prepper guy, Mr. Baker. They sabotaged the local cellphone reception, killed Mr. Baker and his wife, stole their clothes and their car, went off towards Mill City, stealing weapons and the thermite. When they returned, we confronted them. The rest you probably know from forensics. We put their bodies into the bunker and set it alight."

"Fuck!" Nelson exclaimed. "The FBI has gotten involved in this. With this attack on me this thing will have a whole new dimension."

"Nobody can ever know about what happened here tonight!" John insisted. "It has to be covered up."

"How am I gonna cover this up? For example, how am I going to explain the damage to my car?"

"We'll think of something," John said confidently.

Nick looked at the dead Terminator.

"I shot him five times. He didn't even budge. What did you use to bring him down?"

"We have these," Alison replied and held out her gun to him. "We named them ATG - Anti Terminator Gun."

Nick took it and was surprised of the weight.

"Whoa… this thing weighs a ton. Is that the gun that shoots these weird bullets, like the one they found at the bunker in Gates?"

"Yes," Cameron replied.

"It's not meant for humans," Alison explained. "Only a cyborg can fire it. A human would receive heavy injuries from the recoil. The bullet consists of a coltan-tungsten alloy with a core of depleted uranium."

"What? Is that the same shit they used in Iraq to blow up tanks?"

"Something like that," John confirmed.

"You're lucky to be alive," Cameron said. "Without our interference, you would be dead now. Last year one of them killed twenty members of an FBI SWAT team in Los Angeles. Maybe you have heard of that."

"That was… one of them? But I thought it was an actor who…"

"No," John cut him off. "He had killed the actor and taken his place. These guys are really good at impersonating humans."

"So, what about you two?" Andy asked, suddenly having found his voice again for the first time since the girls kidnapped him. "Are you, you know, the _'good cyborgs'_ or what?"

Cameron looked at him, having put band aids over Alison's bullet wounds and a patch on her forehead.

"Yes," she said. "We're the good cyborgs."

"We originally came here to protect John," Alison added while putting her tee shirt and jacket back on, then taking the pliers from Cameron to pull out the single bullet from her sister's chest. "But we're more than just protectors now."

"Yeah, we noticed," Andy commented sarcastically.

The girls just glared at the boys and Nick Nelson saw their eyes flash up in red. He couldn't help but shiver. They seemed so delicate and fragile, so helpless and in need of protection. But obviously they weren't any of that.

"We're really sorry, we are," Mike said quickly.

"Maybe this time, you'll take me a bit more serious," John replied sternly. "That's why we brought you here. So you can see for yourself what's going on. And maybe next time you think twice before calling the police."

"Wait a second…" the sheriff addressed the boys, "the call I received, was that you?"

"Um... yeah, that was me," Andy answered and looked down sheepishly.

"The last word on that isn't spoken yet, young man! Thanks to you, I missed the game!"

"Actually, sheriff," John said, "you should consider the fact that without Andy calling you we wouldn't have met. And without meeting you, we wouldn't have known that the cyborg was after you. It was the girls who identified you as a future leader of the human resistance. So basically, Andy saved your life by calling you."

The sheriff scoffed.

"Cause and effect, huh? But I can apply that logic as well. How about this: Without you coming here, nothing of this would have happened, right?"

"True," John admitted. "But unfortunately, we don't have a crystal ball yet that tells us what's going to happen next. At least we could detect the Triple-Eight in time."

"Triple-Eight?" Nelson asked frowning.

"This particular model series is a T-888," Cameron explained. "Alison and I are another model series, we're TOK-700, more advanced models."

Nelson looked at them flabbergasted.

"Model numbers? Jeez… I can't get my head around the fact that you aren't human! Especially after I saw you dancing. And now you tell me you have model numbers."

John stepped forward and put his arms around the girls.

"Forget about the model numbers, sheriff. They're real girls in every aspect. It doesn't matter what's underneath their skin. They're alive. They feel. They have emotions. They've become part of the family. And they've become my girlfriends."

Alison and Cameron smiled at him affectionately. Nick Nelson looked at it in disbelief.

"I'm still waiting for someone to tell me I'm on candid camera. 'You fell for our prank, sheriff Nelson. It was only blanks and all this is just the result of make-up and special effects!'"

"It's not that. But if you need a final proof... Cam, would you be so kind to turn that old pickup truck around? You know... It's blocking the way."

"Sure, John," she said and walked towards the truck the Triple-Eight had used to ram the sheriff.

She stood in front of it, bent over, lifted the front up with one arm, then did a 180-degree turn with the vehicle and let it down to the ground again, now pointing in the opposite direction. Then she walked back towards them, showing no sign of physical strain.

Andy, Mike and the sheriff looked at her open-mouthed. John smiled at their reaction.

"See? No special effects, no magic tricks, no make-up cheatery. And no candid camera."

 **-0-**

Back at the lodge, Sarah, Derek, Charley and Lauren had gathered in the main room of cabin 11. Sarah had just talked to John on the phone.

"Everything's fine," she said and put down her smartphone.

"I didn't think that anything would go wrong," Derek commented. "The three together are a formidable strike force."

"I don't like how they simply took off like that," Sarah declared. "It's almost as if they don't need us anymore."

"Maybe they don't," Lauren considered. "With those new guns they have, you'd probably be only in the way if you decided to fight a Triple-Eight with them, wouldn't you?"

"Granted… but…"

"It's what John does," Derek stated. "He's developing his style as a military leader. Daring, but never stupid. What he does, makes sense. I'm actually a proud to witness him developing towards that."

"I understand the reason and the logic behind it," Sarah said, "but it still feels strange. His whole life I have been there to protect and guide him and now…"

"Now he has Cameron and Alison," Charley pointed out. "They love him and they can protect him better than you ever could. They work in perfect harmony as a trio. That does bother you, doesn't it?"

"It does," Sarah admitted with a sigh. "I feel… obsolete. And he's just sixteen."

" _You_ are the reason he has developed so well," Derek said. "There is a point when a parent has to start letting go. Maybe that point has come."

"How about thinking about yourself for a change?" Charley asked, took Sarah in his arms and pressed a soft kiss on her cheek. "Or rather, why don't you think about _us_?"

Sarah smiled and hugged Charley back.

"I think I can to that... until Friday, at least."

"Yeah," Charley agreed. "This is a holiday after all. So, let John and the girls do the fighting and start enjoying yourself."

 **-0-**

"How do we get rid of the body?" John asked while the girls collected all the empty bullet casings. "We haven't got any thermite with us."

"What do you mean?" Sheriff Nelson asked. "Getting rid of the body?"

"It has to be destroyed, sheriff," John explained. "If someone finds it – police, FBI, military, anyone – his body can be used to reverse-engineer the technology. That can't be allowed. And it's the reason why the authorities can't be involved. Someone would be stupid enough to consider it a great opportunity for creating a new weapon. We need to keep it under control."

"But you have _them_ ," he pointed at the girls. "Can't _they_ be reverse-engineered as well?"

"Yes," John admitted. "If they'd ever get caught. That's why we try to keep a very low profile, leaving no traces, letting the authorities believe cyborgs don't exist. We're working from outside the system."

"With the help of Catherine Weaver and Zeira Corp, I presume."

"Exactly."

"So, you're… what? Some kind of guerilla group to protect humanity from machines from the future?"

"A small group, yes," Cameron confirmed. "But we're planning on growing."

"Maybe you will join us," Alison added.

"And what if I won't? What if I inform the FBI in the morning?"

"Then we have a problem, sheriff" John sighed. "But we hope that saving your life tonight convinced you enough to realize we're on your side. Besides, the very reason you became a target for Skynet is already proof enough that you're trustworthy."

"I hate it that you seem to know me that well, even though we just met," Nick grumbled.

"What about us?" Mike asked.

"Yes," Andy agreed. "What about us? We aren't being hunted. Looks like we're no future soldiers."

"No, you'll probably be among the three billion human lives that end on Judgement Day," Cameron said dryly.

"Thanks," Andy replied sarcastically with a sour smile.

"You're welcome."

"Or maybe you remember what you saw tonight and join the resistance," John pointed out. "If Judgement Day still comes, that is..."

"No matter what happens, this is heavy stuff. And not being able to talk about it…"

"It's in your own interest to keep quiet," John explained. "If you try to expose us, you might only get the attention of our enemies. And they won't hesitate to torture and kill you to find out what you know about us. Besides, you cannot sabotage our efforts anyway. You know a little bit now but not everything. The most you can achieve is becoming an annoyance. If you remain silent, however, stay quiet and don't talk about what happened here, you might be partly responsible for saving the human race from extinction."

Andy thought for a moment about what John had said.

"So… you mean if we remain silent, we might actually help you saving the world?"

"Yes."

"And if we don't? If we let information slip… let's say, on the internet, anonymously?"

"Let me put it this way," Cameron said. "We can arrange for you to have a good life. But we can also make your lives a living hell. Your choice."

"I… guess we will remain silent," Mike agreed and Andy nodded slowly.

"Good," John stated. "What about you, sheriff? Can we count on you?"

Nick Nelson looked at the 16-year old boy who talked like an adult and recognized that one day he would become an exceptional leader.

"I guess there is no harm done in covering this up," he said. "No crime was committed here and the only thing I could really hold you responsible for, is speeding."

"You're welcome to give us a ticket," John smiled. "But I'm afraid there was a killing. That cyborg needed to get the clothes, the gun and the truck from someone and it's a good guess that person isn't alive anymore."

"So, what you're saying is that somewhere lies a corpse we don't know about?" Sheriff Nelson concluded. "Great."

"I can trace his trail back with my laptop," John said. "Based on the speed at which he was moving, it's pretty easy to tell where he stole the truck. And that's almost certainly where we'll find the owner's body."

They loaded the dead Triple-Eight onto the bed of their RAM, underneath the solid bed cover where it would remain safe from prying eyes. John, Alison and the two boys rode in the Dodge while sheriff Nelson followed them in his patrol car. The Ford F-150 was driven by Cameron.

The trace of the TDDS signal quickly led them down another forest road and to a cabin in the woods, close to the spot where the time bubble had appeared. They stopped and both Cameron and Alison got out and scanned the area.

"There," Cameron finally said. "A faint heat signature below that tree trunk."

They left their cars, only Andy and Mike stayed inside. They weren't too fond of seeing a real corpse. Nick used his flashlight to lighten the area.

"So, you can detect infrared?" he asked.

"Yes," Alison confirmed. "We can see the whole spectrum from infrared to ultra violet."

"Neat."

They reached the tree trunk. Alison effortlessly lifted it up and moved it to the side.

"Oh my," Sheriff Nelson said. "He looks quite beaten up."

"Broken neck," Cameron analyzed. "Easiest and quickest way to kill a human without using a weapon. Do you know him?"

"Why does everyone always think you know everybody as a provincial sheriff? No, I don't know that guy. Based on the clothes, I'd say a hunter. It's not a hunting season right now, though. Probably poaching. There…" Nick pointed his flashlight to a spot ten feet away. "His hunting rifle. Quite bent."

"He probably tried to shoot the Triple-Eight with it," Cameron assumed.

"Let's see," John said… "you surprised him by hunting illegally in the woods. A little car chase ensued in which he rammed you from behind. Then you ended up here in this forest road, where he crashed into a tree. Do you think you can make that sound realistic?"

"I guess I'll have to make it sound realistic, haven't I? Don't worry, leave it to me. There will certainly be a headline on the local paper and an investigation, but if I do it right, it could work."

They carried the dead body to the Ford pickup truck and placed it on the driver's seat. Then Cameron took place in the passenger seat, started the engine, pressed the gas pedal down with her left foot, accelerated to 50 mph and then jumped out, rolled over and came to a perfect stand like an Olympic gymnast. The Ford crashed against a tree and the dead body was catapulted out of the car through the windscreen. Cameron then walked back towards the others.

"Okay, that's one problem solved," John said. "Now what to do with the cyborg's body?"

"Would sinking it in a lake be a solution?" the sheriff asked.

"Nope," John responded. "Except you have a lake that's about three thousand feet deep."

"Hmm… no… you said you need thermite to destroy the body?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, we're fresh out of it."

"I can get some, I think. How much do you need?"

"Two or three kilograms should suffice," Cameron replied. "We'll also need a pit, preferably one made of cinder blocks."

"I can arrange that. Would you mind keeping the body on your truck for the night and come visiting me at my house tomorrow? I live quite remote and I guess I can create such a pit in my garage by tomorrow. I have the day off."

He wrote something down on a small piece of paper.

"Here's my address."

"I think we can manage that," John said, taking the paper. "Maybe we can use the opportunity to turn this into a family trip."

"Sounds like a plan. Maybe we can throw some meat on the grill and you tell me more about Skynet and the future. I'm anxious to learn more about it."

"My uncle Derek is from the future as well. I'm sure he likes to talk about it with you."

Suddenly John's phone rang. He glanced at it, then took the call.

"Hello Catherine … yes, situation is under control … Yes, I know … he's right here with me … Um, yeah, sure. Sheriff?"

"Yes?" Nelson said.

"Catherine Weaver. She'd like to talk to you." John handed him his phone.

Frowning, Nick Nelson took it.

"Hello? … Yes, this is sheriff Nick Nelson speaking … Uh, yes … We do? … Okay, I'll keep it in mind … Yes … Yes, they are exceptional girls, indeed … Uh, yeah, why not? I'm looking forward to it … Me, too … Bye."

Nelson handed the phone back to John. He looked perplexed.

"She said she knows me from the future. Next time she'll come up here to look for a weekend house, she's coming for a visit."

John and the girls smiled.

"Be prepared for a remarkable experience, she's a very special person," John stated and grinned.

"I guess I already have met some remarkable persons tonight," Nick replied. "So… what is it your mother said? You guys are against wearing firearms and you hate violence, is that right?"

They looked at each other, then started laughing.

 **-0-**

They let out Andy and Mike at their cabins. Both were welcomed by their parents who were a bit worried, but they explained they had spent the evening with John and the girls – which was the truth, to be honest, if not in the way their parents imagined.

When John, Cameron and Alison parked on the driveway of cabin 11, the rest of the family gathered around the truck and welcomed them. The whole story was shared, and everyone reacted relieved that they were able to pull a local sheriff into their slowly growing underground movement. John presented the body of the dead Triple-Eight and both Sarah and Derek were very impressed with the damage Catherine's ammo had done. They left the body in the back of the truck and put the truck bed cover over it again.

Then Sarah, Charley, Derek and Lauren with the baby went back to their own cabins. John and the girls put the furniture back inside before they undressed. Once naked, Cameron and Alison leaned into John and all three of them hugged.

"How about actually spending the night in bed for a change?" John suggested. "I know you don't sleep but I could use some rest and a long, undisturbed slumber."

"Your bedroom or ours?" Cameron asked smiling.

"Mine has the bigger bed," John replied and looked at Alison. "It bothers me how you two constantly end up being wounded or shot. Somehow, I feel the need to just hold you tight and keep you close tonight."

"It won't accelerate the healing, but it definitely will feel nice," Alison agreed.

"Yes," Cameron added, "it'll be nice just to be close for a night and do nothing else."

"Okay, let's hit the sack before I topple over."

"If you topple over," Cameron said tenderly, "we will catch you and carry you to bed."

"I know," he replied wearily and kissed her deeply. "I know."

 **-0-0-0-**

 _ **Author's notes:**_

 _ **\- Are football games ever happening on a Tuesday? No idea, so I made it a rearranged match ;-)**_

 _ **\- Also, no idea how law enforcement is organized in that region, so I made up my own version.**_

 _ **\- If anyone's interested, I actually listened to Swan Lake while writing this chapter :-)**_


	21. Footprints and Traces (revised)

_**CHAPTER 21: "FOOTPRINTS AND TRACES" (revised)**_

* * *

 **Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 – 08:34 a.m.**

 **Portland, Oregon**

The office of the FBI in Portland was a complex that consisted of three separate buildings with red brick facades, located next to the Portland International Airport and the Columbia River.

There was a three-story office building and two lower technical structures, one of which was the motor pool. The site was surrounded by an eight-foot metal fence with two entrances. Both had guardhouses and electric gates. One was leading to the technical structures and the motor pool, and the other one – the main entrance – was in front of the office building. There were two separate access ways at each gate, one to get in and one to get out of the grounds. Armed guards checked everyone who went in or out, and retractable obstacles prevented any vehicle from breaking through by force.

A black Ford Crown Victoria slowed down and stopped next to the guardhouse at the main entrance. The guard checked the driver and the passengers, then opened the gate. After driving through, the Ford stopped in front of the office building. Two persons got out: a young woman with long, blonde hair who wore a grey pantsuit, and a middle-aged, slightly corpulent man with receding grey hair in a black, crumpled-looking suit that seemed to be one size too large for him.

They looked around while the driver opened the trunk and pulled out two trolley bags. Then he got behind the wheel again and drove off towards the motor pool. The man and the woman grabbed their trolleys and walked towards the front door where they were already expected by a tall African-American in his early forties, also wearing a black suit. But in contrast to his male counterpart, it looked like a perfect fit.

"I'm special agent Larry Manson," he said, "welcome to Portland."

"Thank you," the middle-aged man replied. "I'm special agent Steve Goldman and this is agent Jennifer Heiler."

All three shook hands and Manson motioned for them to come inside. They left their trolleys at the entrance and followed Manson to his office on the second floor. The tall African American took place behind his desk and motioned for Goldman and Heiler to sit down opposite of him.

"Would you like a cup of coffee or a glass of water?"

Goldman shook his head while he took place.

"No thanks."

"Um, a glass of water would be nice," Heiler said, sitting down as well.

"So, what can I do for you?" Manson asked, pouring the beverage from a carafe into a glass for agent Heiler. "The Los Angeles office has announced your arrival on a short notice. It's not even half an hour since I received the call to expect your arrival at 8 o'clock in the morning. I hardly had time to send a car towards the airport. Luckily it's just around the corner."

"Yes," Goldman said, "the order came very suddenly for us as well. We were briefed last night to catch the earliest flight to Portland in the morning."

"We're here for the Baker murders in Gates," agent Heiler added. "We're particularly interested in the ammunition that was used in the shooting."

Jennifer Heiler was a pretty woman in her late twenties with a charming smile. Manson smiled back.

"Our agents are already fully involved in the case," he said. "What interest does the L.A. office have in this?"

"There could be a connection to the incident at Zeira Corp last week," Goldman replied. "You know, the drone attack on Catherine Weaver's office."

"I see… Weaver was near the crime scene yesterday but I'm sure you know that already."

"Yeah, we know, but her interview by the LAPD didn't result in anything. It's probably a coincidence."

"Yes, maybe… So far it's only her presence in the same town that connects her to the murders, and that's nothing substantial, probably just a coincidence. I have to admit, though, that I normally don't believe in such coincidences. Especially since it obviously has been decided from up above not to investigate in that direction anymore…"

"We know that," Heiler said. "Weaver has connections to the highest levels and unless we have solid evidence that she's involved in the case, all investigating authorities are instructed not to question her any further. We're mainly here to get a personal impression of what happened, especially concerning the ammunition that was used in the gunfight. Can you tell us more about that?"

"Not much," Manson replied, "The metallurgical analysis of the bullet's remains in the concrete suggests that it was .500 caliber, armor-piercing ammo, consisting of an unknown alloy that's extremely hard and heat-resistant, consisting mainly of coltan and tungsten."

Heiler and Goldman looked at each other.

"Coltan and tungsten were also found in the wrecked drone in Weaver's office," Goldman said. "But we didn't have time for a detailed analysis. The wreck was removed very hastily and disappeared without a trace. Rumor has it the Air Force had an interest in it... but if you ask me, Weaver bagged the drone for her own R&D department. Everyone was told off to not ask any more questions about that... Still, it's an interesting coincidence."

"A very interesting coincidence indeed," Manson remarked. "Coltan and tungsten are a very exotic combination of materials. There's no known utilization for an alloy in that specific ratio today. It's also extremely expensive. But that's not the weirdest thing."

"Then what's the weirdest thing?" Goldman asked and seemed very interested.

"The bullet was similar in structure to the ammunition for the GAU-8 Avenger cannon of the A-10 Thunderbolt airplane, for which Zeira Corp has a production license. This bullet was a lot smaller but it also contained a core of depleted uranium. So far, we have no idea about the type of propellant that was used. Based on the destructive force of the impact, our ballistics experts assume that the projectile was moving at a speed of almost Mach 5 when it hit the concrete."

Goldman whistled and Heiler looked flabbergasted.

"Such high-speed ammunition is unusable in close combat," she said, "especially with such heavy projectiles. Firing it from a hand gun or a rifle would exceed the physical capacity of any human being. One would need a tripod which is anchored in the ground, but the assembly would take some time. Or it would have to be mounted on a vehicle."

"It seems you are a much bigger weapons expert than I am, agent Heiler," Manson remarked, "There were no signs of any tripod or another vehicle, but since the ammunition obviously exists, the weapon from which it was fired must also exist. Someone must have cleaned the crime scene, though, since we didn't find any shell casings or traces of gunpowder or anything. Only a lot of 9-mm casings from the submachine guns which were stolen in the gun store - I guess they were considered less important and left behind. That's how we know there was a firefight in the first place. But apart from that, nothing. Not even a trace of radioactivity from the uranium."

"Depleted uranium is poisonous but not very radioactive," Heiler explained. "At least not radioactive enough to make it detectable on such a small scale."

"What can you tell us about the remains you found in the bunker?" Goldman asked.

"Almost nothing. Very few remains of molten metals… traces of steel, titanium and also coltan again. Most of it was simply vaporized in the heat of the fire. There's no way to tell what it used to be. The bunker worked like a kiln. Thermite doesn't require oxygen for the combustion process. A normal fire would have suffocated due to lack of oxygen. It took the fire department five hours to cool it down enough for entering the bunker in a heat-protected suit."

"Do you have any clue how many people were involved in the shooting?" Heiler asked.

"We found footprints of nine different persons – none of them conclusive, except for one."

"In which way was it conclusive?" Goldman asked.

"High heels."

"High heels?"

Goldman and Heiler looked perplexed.

"Yes. Strange, isn't it? That's how Catherine Weaver came into the focus. High heels aren't exactly the latest fashion in that neck of the woods. And do you know what's even weirder?"

"I'm sure you're gonna tell us."

"The footprints of the high heels only lead _out_ of the bunker. There are no footprints of high heels that lead _into_ the bunker."

 **-0-**

 **Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 – 08:42 a.m.**

 **Jefferson Lodge, Oregon**

John woke up with his head resting on Cameron's breasts. He snuggled closer to her, putting his arm around her torso and felt Alison change position to keep herself spooned to his backside, her stiff nipples poking into his back.

"No blowjob this morning?" he murmured sleepily.

"You didn't need to be woken up," Cameron replied and stroked through his hair. "You needed the rest. Would you like to have one now?"

"How about a kiss first?"

He lifted his head and immediately his lips met with hers. The kiss lasted several minutes, and his hand glided down her body and between her legs, which she gladly opened to grant him access. She was very wet. He pushed two fingers inside and she reacted with a soft moan.

Alison changed her position. She slid towards the end of the bed, kissing her way down his spine, across his buttocks, then moved her head between his thighs where her tongue started licking his balls. John spread his legs and Alison immediately started kissing his dick tenderly, licking the already erect tip with her warm tongue. Then she took it into her mouth and started to suck him very slowly and very affectionately.

"Making love is so easy with you," John remarked between kisses and sighed contentedly.

"Isn't that how love should be?" Cameron asked and continued kissing him.

"Often it isn't."

"Do you mean because human girls are more complicated?" Alison asked between licks.

"I suppose so. I really have no comparison… you know, Riley and I never got this far. But with you it's so normal and natural and you're always so ready. You never object to a touch or refuse a kiss. And you're so devoted in bed. Human girls aren't that carefree, to be honest. You're every man's wet dream."

"Isn't that how it's supposed to be?" Cameron asked. "Being always there for the one you love?"

"In theory, yes, in movies and novels. But in real life, there's often a huge difference between romantic wishful thinking and sobering reality. With the two of you, though, it's different. With you, it's the complete romantic love program from movies, TV and novels. You give me pleasure as if it's the most natural thing in the world. When I want your touch, I'll get it. When I want to kiss you, I'll receive the sweetest kisses. And when I'd like to have sex with you, it goes without saying that you provide it. You're absolutely selfless... and I often feel a little bad about it."

"Why? Doesn't love include being selfless, always being ready and willing to give your loved one pleasure and comfort?"

"As I said, in theory. Human girls are very different from you in that respect. They're… difficult. They want rituals, gestures, compliments. Constantly. And if you accidentally make one tiny mistake, they let you sweat, never telling you what you did wrong. You have to guess it, which is quite annoying. Men don't like such games. But with you… it's different."

"It's very important to us to be your perfect lovers," Alison said after she let his dick pop out of her mouth for a moment. "I guess that's because we're machines. The pleasure of serving a purpose is rooted deeply inside of us, and the joy of performing a task to perfection is part of who and what we are. We observe when something makes you happy, we remember it for next time and then try to improve it to become even better in what we're doing. All that is of course embedded in the love we feel for you."

"That sounds like you consider yourself my love servants. That doesn't sound right. You're far more than just machines who serve someone, I thought we were over that."

"John," Cameron spoke tenderly and caressed his hair, "no matter how far we develop, we will always be machines. Please never forget that. We'll never be like human women, no matter how human we may sometimes seem to you."

"Of course I'll never forget that," John replied a little fretfully. "But I don't care about _what_ you are. I only care about _who_ you are. I love you, full stop. You're the women I love, and I'll always treat you accordingly. Any objections?"

"None." Cameron said smiling and resumed her kissing.

John sighed

"I can't believe it's just been nine days since we became lovers.".

"Nine days and ten nights," Alison corrected. "And we've been in love long before that. We just needed time to realize it."

"Yes, I wish I could undo or unsay some of the things I did and said." John replied and sighed again.

"So do I," Cameron added and Alison nodded, bobbing her head on his cock.

John frowned.

"I can't see what _you_ did wrong," he stated a little perplexed. "The faults were with me."

"I could have given you clearer signals. And I could have given clearer answers when you asked why I did or said certain things."

"Like what?"

"Like when I tried to be prettier for you, or when I tried to be close to you, stay with you at all times… when I grasped your hand when you tried to repair my arm…"

"Oh, believe me, that didn't go unnoticed," John replied smiling. "Don't think for a moment I didn't get those signals. For instance, when you sat behind me and painted your nails while you watched Vic seduce Barbara on the monitor. It wasn't just you making conversation, was it?"

"No, it wasn't. But I was very cautious to say or do more. I was afraid of your reaction. I was worried that you'd react the same way Future John did."

"How did he react?" John asked, suddenly very interested. "You never told me about your private relationship with him. Did you get… you know… intimate with him?"

Alison let his dick plop out of her mouth again.

"Not really," she said. "He avoided any form of physical closeness, probably fearing another loss. That's why he kept me at a distance."

"Yes," Cameron confirmed while Alison continued to give him head. "We talked a lot, though. About his fears, his feelings, his desires, his plans, his nightmares. He lay on his bed and I sat on a chair next to it and listened, trying to comfort him, but he would never let me come any closer than that. When I reached for his hand, he pulled it away. The most intimate moment we ever had, was his head resting on my lap after a long, exhausting day. He probably didn't consciously realize it in his sleep... Maybe that's why it was so difficult to show my emotions to you."

"Wait... you mean Future John's rejection was the reason why you were so overly careful in approaching me?"

"Yes," Cameron confirmed. "I feared you might react like him, trying to put more distance between us. I realize now that I should have tried getting closer to you instead. What I said to you after the car bomb, when you had reactivated me, was ungrateful... I was in fact very grateful that you didn't let Sarah and Derek destroy me… but for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to tell you. "

"Yes, that hurt me deeply… I'd put my life on the line and took a great risk to save your life and all you said was that it had been too risky, that I couldn't be trusted anymore, and that it would _'upset people'_ … What you meant was that it did upset _you_ , I get that now. It upset you because all you wanted to do, was to protect me. And by re-inserting your chip again, I risked my life."

"It was a fifty-fifty chance that the new reboot would reset my system. So yes, I was upset, worried and confused… But what I said to you, was unjustified. It didn't come out right and the damage was done. I always waited for the right moment to set it right, but that moment never came."

"I guess that moment is now," John said smiling. "Better late than never. But it's also my fault that it took so long. I shouldn't have pushed you away the way I did, I should have confided in you about my own issues… about killing Sarkissian for instance. At the time, though, I felt like I'd been pushed away by everyone – by you, mom, and Derek. Dumped at school, alone, while you three continued the fight without me… that was the moment Riley approached me. So I guess she was my way of getting back at all of you."

"I'm sorry, John."

"No, I'm sorry. I failed to realize how confused and upset you were after I brought you back. I should have hugged you back then instead of walking away, no matter what mom or Derek would have thought."

Cameron tilted her head.

"It would have surprised me," she said, "but I would have enjoyed it."

She kissed him again.

"I have waited so long for your forgiveness, John… it was tearing me apart."

"I'm so sorry," he replied softly and caressed her cheek.

No one said anything for a while. Then Alison stopped sucking his dick and looked up.

"Were you so hesitant towards me because you were afraid of falling in love with a cyborg?" she asked and went back down on him.

John thought about that for a moment.

"Maybe," he said. "I don't know, it's… I was so angry at the time and when Riley came into my life and you suddenly seemed to become like mom… controlling me, lecturing me… while in fact you were simply trying to protect me… mostly from my own stupidity, I guess."

"We were both entering unknown territory," Cameron replied. "We both didn't know how to express ourselves to the other. It was a communication problem."

"The culminating point was the night I went off to Mexico with Riley, when you laid down next to me. You had taken off your shirt and wanted to look sexy for me, remember?"

"Oh… yes, it seemed like a good idea at the time... but in hindsight, that was really awkward and embarrassing. It was such a clumsy attempt to get your attention."

John chuckled.

"Heh… yeah, it was clumsy and very transparent. But it also was very cute, and do you know what?"

"What?"

"I got a boner lying next to you."

"You did?" Cameron asked.

"You did?" Alison echoed.

"Yes, I guess I can admit it now. If I hadn't been so determined to run away to Mexico with Riley, that evening might have ended very differently."

"I was so upset and disappointed when you told me you needed to sleep, sending me away from your side. I would have preferred to stay there with you."

"I was so close to turning around and taking you in my arms that night. So close. But a part of me believed you were just jealous of Riley and wanted to manipulate me."

"I should have joined you in your room much earlier."

"Maybe. I'm so glad we've gotten over all that. Being here with you now is the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Oh, I can think of an even better thing," Cameron said, climbed on top of him, relieving Alison from her cock-sucking and inserted his dick into her pussy."

"Oh yes, of course," John groaned. "That is definitely an improvement compared to that awkward evening."

Alison lay down next to John again and the two started kissing while Cameron slowly rode his cock.

"I want to taste you, Alison," he whispered tenderly into her ear.

She nodded, sat up, turned around to face Cameron and squatted down over his face, slowly lowering her wet pussy over his mouth. She was so wet that her juices dripped down on his face, which was soon covered in them.

 _"Mmmh… strawberry and vanilla,"_ John thought.

"Please play with my tits, John," Alison said as he started licking and inserted his tongue into her folds.

He reached up and cupped her breasts with his hands, rubbing and twisting her hard nipples between his fingers. Cameron and Alison both leaned forward until their mouths met for a deep kiss with lots of tongue-playing.

"Let's change positions," Cameron suggested after a moment. "And remember, John loves it when we talk dirty..."

"Good idea, sis," Alison said and lifted herself up from John's face.

Cameron turned around and let herself down on John's face while Alison inserted his dick into her pussy, beginning to ride him a bit harder now. His lover's juices filled John's mouth. In contrast to Alison, they tasted like blueberry muffin.

"Oooh yes," Alison moaned. "Your cock belongs in my pussy, John… I'm all pussy for you now… I'm just a cunt for your cock… oooh yes… cum inside me, John... I'm your cunt… cum inside your cunt."

John groaned loudly into Cameron's pussy and came hard inside Alison. At the same time, Cameron came over his face and drenched him in her juices. Alison climaxed as well and moaned loudly, then the two cyborg girls leaned forward to kiss each other again. After their orgasms had subsided, Alison and Cameron dismounted John and lay down next to him, licking and sucking his face, kissing him and sharing the juices they licked off.

"That…" John said exhausted, "was hot, Alison. And your language… wow… it brought me over the edge. And jeez, you two tasted so good again."

"We're not done with you yet," Cameron stated with a wink. "There's one more cunt you need to cum in. Sis, do you think John's cock is good for another round?"

He laughed.

"Girls, you're insatiable. You're gonna wear me down."

"Hmm, lemme check," Alison said and moved down to inspect John's penis. "Still very much up to the task." She gave it a lick. "No sign of wear. Although it needs some additional stimulation. Maybe with the right kind of talk..."

She swallowed it whole again.

"I see," Cameron acknowledged while still licking John's face clean. "His dick needs more stimulation from his cunts."

John's cock twitched.

"Aha!" Alison said. "Seems like you picked the right tone, sis."

"You love that, don't you?" Cameron asked him. "You love it when your slutty, horny cunts talk so dirty to you."

John groaned.

"Yes… I'm not… in a position to… deny it."

"I'm longing for your cock inside me, John." Alison continued. "I'm such a horny cumslut. I'm just a cunt, a dripping-wet cunt. I'm a cunt on legs that wants to get fucked by you, I want to be used by you like the slut I am. Get hard for me, John, so you can fuck your cunt."

"I think he's ready again," Cameron reported smiling.

"Alright," John groaned and sat up. "You want to get fucked, cunts? Then get on all fours. Both of you. Now!"

They happily complied, and John took in the view for a moment. His girls were presenting their backsides to him. He gently rubbed their sopping wet pussies and immediately they pushed their asses back into his hands. Both groaned loudly when he pushed his thumbs inside their pussies. His cock was harder than it ever was.

"Beg for it, cunts!" he commanded.

"Please fuck me, John," Cameron begged. "Fuck your cunt."

"Yes," Alison agreed, "please fuck this cunt, John."

"And grab my tits while you fuck me," Cameron added.

"Yes," Alison said, "fuck this cunt and grab my tits."

He took turns in thrusting into each of them doggystyle, first Cameron, then, after a few thrusts, Alison. He repeated that several times, alternating between the two, fucking them both hard and fast, accompanied by their constant moaning and begging, using dirty words they knew would turn him on even more. Finally, John couldn't hold back anymore and shot his load into Alison's pussy. He groaned loudly and then sunk down in exhaustion. They softly caught his body and covered his face with kisses.

"Thank you, John," Cameron said. "Thank you for fucking your cunts."

"We'll always be your cunts," Alison added. "Now and forever."

It took a moment for John to recover. Then he chuckled.

"That was by far the hottest sex we had so far. I raise my hat to the two of you."

"You don't wear a hat, John," Alison remarked.

"It's a figure of speech, sis," Cameron said.

John laughed.

"Cam's right, Alison. Just a figure of speech. She's ahead of you now."

"Only for the moment," Alison responded and stuck out her tongue towards Cameron, who giggled in reply.

John sighed.

"I adore both of you so much," he said and hugged them tight. "This is getting better and better. I hope it never stops getting better."

"We adore you too, John," Cameron replied, "and we promise we'll always attempt to make it even better. Right, sis?"

"Right," Alison agreed.

Neither John nor Cameron noticed the brief expression of sadness on Alison's face. It lasted only for a second, then it was gone again.

 **-0-**

FBI agents Goldman and Healer were on their way to Gates. It was almost 10 a.m., and they had left Portland just over an hour ago. Special Agent Manson had provided them with a car, another black Ford Crown Victoria. Jennifer Heiler was behind the wheel and drove on highway 22 while Steve Goldman had been quiet for almost all the drive so far, staring out of the window.

Jennifer respected her superior, even though he sometimes seemed a little strange. Somehow he reminded her a little of Inspector Columbo from TV. There was a certain resemblance in his manner, his posture and his gestures. She knew that what had happened in Gates, and what Manson had told them, deeply preoccupied, even worried him. Finally, she could no longer stand the wordless silence.

"Do you think Weaver is involved in this?" she asked.

Goldman looked at her, as if waking up from a dream.

"Hm? Oh… Yes, I think we can definitely assume that. She might have fooled the LAPD, but of course they don't know what we know."

"Then the question is what role she played. If you ask me, the gun with the uranium ammo comes from within her company. Zeira Corp is like a bag of surprises… Aviation, power plants, weapons, satellites, machinery, ships, electronics, computers and dozens of other activities. In many sectors, her company has the global leadership. She's got her fingers in almost everything."

"Yes, and her activities are very well concealed, hidden behind secret government projects and military contracts. Much of what she does, is top secret, and she has connections to the highest government ranks. The perfect cover for some unknown side projects, especially since she owns seventy-five percent of the company. Weaver doesn't have to answer to shareholders. Not to mention that ever since the stock market value of Zeira Corp tripled under her leadership, the shareholders remain in stunned silence, letting her do her magic. Even her supervisory board is eating out of her hand. As long as it stays that way, she can practically do whatever she wants."

"Yeah, it's almost as if she can predict the future. Whatever she starts, becomes a success. She knows where to invest and when, and she's always at least two steps ahead of her competitors. It's driving them nuts."

"You know… if I didn't know any better, I'd say she's got a crystal ball hidden somewhere that tells her about trends, where investments are going to pay off, and when is the right time to sell shares in other companies with the biggest profit."

"So you think she plays a key role in this whole thing?"

Goldman hesitated.

"Let's not get hasty here. One thing's for sure: She is extremely high profile. We will need to gather a lot more evidence before we can risk confronting her."

"You're the boss, Steve."

"Let's take look at the crime scene first. Maybe we find something the others didn't. After all, they didn't know what to look for."

 **-0-**

It was hot outside. Overnight the temperature had risen to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. When John and the girls had showered, they decided to only wear the necessary minimum of clothing. It wouldn't look right if the girls went out in their usual attire, with jeans, boots and a leather jacket.

While John wore a Hawaii tee shirt, knee-length shorts and his sneakers, the girls put on red boxer shorts that barely covered their butts, flip-flops and white tank tops that left their bellies free. Both had _"I'm with sis"_ written over their chest, including arrows that pointed at each other. It was obvious they wore no bra. John looked at them and sighed.

"Mom's not gonna like that."

"The only important question is, do _you_ like it?" Alison asked.

John grinned.

"Oh yeah, I do."

"Then we don't care what your mother says," Cameron stated.

"Suit yourself," John said and shrugged, then kissed the two and followed them outside.

They had agreed on meeting for breakfast at 10:00 a.m. and it was 10:15 when John and the girls arrived at the restaurant. All the others were already there. They quickly got their food from the buffet and joined them.

"Long night?" Derek asked grinning while looking Cameron and Alison up and down with appreciation.

"Slept for ten hours straight," John replied and sat down.

He noticed the scowl on his mother's face when she spotted Alison and Cameron.

"I hope you're at least wearing underwear," she said in a disapproving tone.

"What if we don't?" Cameron asked provocatively.

"The reasons why humans wear underwear, don't apply to us," Alison added.

It was clear that all the males on the table didn't want to have any part in that conversation. Derek hid behind his newspaper and Charley was very concentrated on eating his fruit salad. John felt a little exposed between his girlfriends and looked down on his plate. Lauren just grinned.

"The rules of decency apply to you as well," Sarah hissed across the table. "You can't walk around like a couple of skanks."

"Actually, we can," Cameron said and took a sip of orange juice. "Or do you think someone will assault and try to rape us? I'm sure that would be funny."

Sarah gasped for air and had to compose herself.

"What has happened to you over night? Are you now in your rebellious teenager phase or what? At least you could have put on a bra."

"Our boobs don't bother us when we run or walk," Alison replied.

"And they'll never sag," Cameron added.

"That's not the main reason for wearing a bra, young ladies," Sarah said angrily. "And you know that perfectly well."

Suddenly, Lauren couldn't take it any longer and burst out into laughter. Everyone looked at her. It took her a moment to compose herself.

"Don't you realize it?" she asked a puzzled-looking Sarah.

"What?" Sarah asked back.

"You're treating them like your real teenage daughters. That is so cute."

Sarah opened her mouth to reply something, but nothing came out. Instead she looked around at Charley, who was having trouble keeping a straight face, then pulled down the newspaper to find Derek chuckling, apparently having trouble not to laugh out loud as well.

"Mom," John finally said. "Strictly speaking they're of legal age. Alison Young was eighteen years old when Cameron was made in her image. They can decide for themselves what's proper attire and what isn't."

Cameron and Alison beamed at John, being thankful for defending them against his mother.

"Fine." Sarah responded and raised her hands "Obviously I'm fighting a losing battle here. The girls have bewitched you all with their choice of clothing – or lack of rather."

"Oh, come on, Sarah," Charley said and put his arm around her. "Loosen up a bit. John's right. The girls know what they're doing, and I'd really like to see the show when some unfortunate jerk tries to make a move on them." He hesitated for a moment. "I mean, you wouldn't kill him, would you?"

"No. Of course not," Alison stated, "only hurt him slightly. Breaking his wrist for instance."

"Or crack some ribs," Cameron added. "Maybe break a leg or crush his balls..."

For a moment there was silence, then Cameron and Alison smiled. Everyone realized they had been joking and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Lauren suddenly said.

Everyone looked where she was looking, and they saw that Andy and Mike had entered the restaurant with their parents. The two boys had spotted them right away and tried their best to avoid any eye contact.

"Looks like you finally scared them off," Derek remarked. "And you didn't have to hurt or kill them. You're improving."

"Their threat level is minimal," Alison stated.

"And killing them would have ruined your holidays," Cameron added.

"Still…" Sarah said to the girls. "Next time you play a game against someone, try to be less unbeatable. People, boys in particular, don't react well to losing to girls. And when you add insult to injury, you end up getting into a situation like with Mike and Andy."

"Are you suggesting we should lose on purpose next time?" Cameron asked indignantly.

"No," Sarah replied, "I only suggest that you better not humiliate them next time. Don't let your physical superiority hang out so much."

"Where's the fun in not doing that?" Alison asked and both girls pouted.

Derek just shook his head.

"You know," he said, "if someone knocked me over the head and I'd lose my memory, there's no chance in hell anyone could convince me you're anything but human."

"Does that mean if we'd knock you over the head, you'd be nicer to us?" Cameron asked with a smirk.

Sarah looked at Derek.

"Could be worth a try," she stated and smiled.

Derek gave her a grumpy look, but Alison grabbed Derek's hand.

"Thank you," she said with a smile. "Coming from you, that was a really nice compliment."

"Yes," Cameron agreed and took his other hand. "We appreciate it."

Derek looked at their hands open-mouthed. This was the first time they had physically touched him since he had been lying on the kitchen table in the old house with the gunshot wound.

"Oh, don't get all mushy on me now," he responded resolutely, pulled back his hands and tried to look serious, but everyone noticed that he was quite touched by the girls' response.

"So, when are we going to visit the sheriff?" Lauren asked. "Have you set a time?"

"Not really," John replied. "He just said he'd be home from 11 o'clock onwards. I suggest we go there right after breakfast. The sooner we get rid of the triple-eight's body, the better."

"Shall we take both cars?" Derek asked.

"Not necessary," Sarah said, "Without our luggage, there's enough space for all of us in the Suburban."

"And we shouldn't drive around with the RAM so much anyway," John added. "Someone else could report it to the police and we'd be having even more trouble. I don't want that."

"Alright then," Sarah stated. "We'll pick you up at your cabin in half an hour. Are you two determined to remain dressed that way?"

"Yes," both Cameron and Alison replied.

Sarah sighed.

"Whatever."

They finished eating and then rose. Lauren took Alison and Cameron aside for a moment.

"So, are you?" she asked.

"Are we what?" Cameron asked back with a confused expression.

Lauren rolled her eyes.

"Wearing panties, of course."

Cameron and Alison looked at each other with a smile, then Alison pulled at the waistband of her shorts a bit, so Lauren could look underneath it.

"You're soooo naughty," the girl stated and the three of them giggled.

 **-0-**

 **Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 – 10:56 a.m.**

 **Gates, Oregon**

Agents Goldman and Heiler arrived at the crime scene. A deputy of the local sheriff's office awaited them there. The entire property was encircled with yellow crime scene tape.

"So, what can you tell us about what happened here?" Goldman asked.

"Didn't your FBI friends brief you already?" the deputy asked back.

"Only the basics but not the details," Heiler answered. "Have you been able to recreate a chronological pattern already?"

"Uh… we're pretty sure it was three men that came down from that mountain shortly before dawn," the deputy said and pointed into a direction where the view was blocked by trees. "Apparently, they brought down the local cell tower that is located on the hilltop. We have no idea how that was done, it looks as if it was bent down."

Goldman frowned.

"Bent down?"

"Yes, you know… snapped off at the ground."

"By what force?" Heiler asked.

"We have no idea. That's one of the mysteries. We only know for sure that they can't have used any machinery up there."

"Okay, go on," Goldman said, "what happened then?"

"They came down here barefooted," the deputy answered. "We found their tracks. No idea why they didn't wear shoes."

Heiler and Goldman looked at each other.

"Then they broke into the house," the deputy continued. "And…"

"Can you show us how they broke in?" Goldman asked.

"Yeah, sure, follow me please."

The deputy raised the crime scene tape and all three passed underneath it. They walked towards the Baker's house, stopping at the entrance.

"They had a very good security lock, but it was ripped from its moorings with brute force," the deputy explained. "We assume they rammed it open with some heavy object, but we didn't find anything. The Bakers must have heard the noise and gotten up but before they could do anything, they were overwhelmed in their bedroom and killed."

"Cause of death?" Heiler asked.

"Broken neck. The forensic said the attackers must have been very strong and trained in martial arts to do that. There was no blood or DNA traces. It looks like the Bakers didn't even try to fight back. Everything must all have gone very quickly."

"I see," Goldman acknowledged. "Go on."

"The three invaders rummaged through the wardrobe and we assume they looked for clothes and shoes. We have no inventory of the contents of the wardrobe but there are clear indications the killers were naked at the time or at least in their underwear. That would explain the bare footprints."

"Any idea how they got on the hilltop without clothes on?" Goldman asked.

"None. The only thing we found, was a dent on the forest floor, next to the radio mast."

"A dent?"

"Yeah… a circular indentation, as if someone has dropped a scorching hot bowling ball with a diameter of ten feet or so. It showed burn marks all around. Luckily, the ground was still moist from the rain a couple of days ago. Otherwise we might have a wildfire at our hands now."

"Very mysterious," Goldman remarked.

"This whole damn case is full of mysteries," the deputy said. "After they killed the Bakers and had gotten dressed, they searched the whole house. We assume they looked for weapons, but crazy old Baker was a prepper and a pacifist. They didn't own weapons. So, we assume they stole his car and drove into town to rob the gun store."

"Catherine Weaver reported that she saw two men behind the wheel of a truck," Heiler stated. "That means one of them waited here for them to return."

"Weaver said that? Do you think she's involved? We're being kept out of the loop here since you guys took over."

"At this point we cannot exclude anything," Goldman replied." She only confirmed what the eye witness and the video footage from the gun store already told us. But she might know more than she admitted so far."

"I once saw her on TV," the deputy said. "Tough woman, if you ask me, bringing the company to such blossom after her husband's death. She's one of the richest people on the west coast. When word got around she might be interested in buying land here, it made local headlines. Some people think it could increase the value of their real estate."

"Her statement that she was looking for land here, could have been a pretext," Heiler clarified. "I wouldn't raise my hopes too high."

"You think she has anything to do with the three guys who murdered the Bakers?"

"It's too early to assume anything," Goldman replied. "What about the others, the ones in the black Dodge RAM? Do you have personal descriptions of them?"

"No," the deputy said, "but we found footprints of six people. Of four of them, we can't tell if it were men or women because two wore combat boots and two wore hiking boots. They had taken cover behind a felled tree trunk over there, just behind the fence. That trunk is full of bullet holes, the three attackers must have walked towards them blasting their automatic weapons all the way. Then they were probably brought down. Neighbors from a mile down the road reported that they heard gunfire from automatic weapons and then four very loud gunshots, almost like small explosions. We assume that was the mystery gun. One shot ended up in the concrete wall of the bunker while the other three brought down the three attackers. However, due to the lack of bodies, nothing can be said for sure. The forensic guys say that with the kind of ammunition used, there should be human remains and blood spatters all over the place. But there are none. Zip."

"You said there were footprints of six people… two wore combat boots and two wore hiking boots. That's only four. What about the other two?"

"Yeah, that's the next mystery in this weird case," the deputy stated and rubbed his chin. "When the sheriff and I arrived at the scene, the ground was still untouched by the fire brigade – before they set everything under water. There were footprints of a man in low shoes, which were leading _towards_ the bunker entrance. But they didn't lead _away_ from the bunker again. The only footprints leading _away_ from the bunker, were those of a woman's high heels. Completely different shoe sizes, so it couldn't have been the same person."

"Maybe somebody carried the woman into the bunker?"

"No, the footprints weren't deep enough for that. Our sheriff is a native American, an experienced hunter who can read tracks. He said the person walking into the bunker didn't weigh more than 180 pounds. He jokingly added that it looks like a man went into the bunker, changed into a woman in high heels and then walked out again."

All three of them laughed but it was clear that Goldman and Heiler were more shocked than amused. They looked at each other with alarmed faces.

"Could the man with the low shoes be the one who fired the four shots?" Heiler asked.

"No, ma'am. The four shots must have been fired from the cover behind the tree trunk. The man in low shoes would have been mowed down. He must have walked across the lawn either before or after the gunfight, as he went straight from the gate to the bunker entrance."

"I think that is all we need to know for the moment," Goldman stated and turned around to leave.

"Oh, by the way," the deputy said, "last night there was a 911-call of someone who claimed to have seen the black Dodge RAM at a holiday lodge about 45 miles away. All calls are being handled centrally out here and then forwarded to the sheriff's office on duty, but we always get a notification. Last night the office in Sisters was on duty. Sheriff Nick Nelson later called in and said it was a prank, so we didn't forward it to the FBI. But since you're already here, I'm telling you for the sake of completeness."

 **-0-**

"Do you think what I believe you're thinking?" Goldman asked Heiler, as they drove east on highway 22.

"I guess I do but we still need more evidence to support it. The most important thing is to find out about the four people who took part in the gunfight and brought each one of the perps down with a single shot."

"I'd like to have such a gun," Heiler said.

"Me too," Goldman agreed. "Would make our job a lot easier if we ever met one of them face to face."

"Do you think Weaver was there? Were those her high heels? Did she bring the guns?"

"She has the means to develop such guns for sure. But it's still a puzzle to me what role she plays in all this."

"Maybe she…" Heiler began thoughtfully but then shook her head and fell silent. "Never mind…"

"Maybe she what? Come on, no theory is too weird to not be allowed here."

"Nah, it's too crazy."

"Spill it out, Jennifer."

"Alright… what if the three attackers set up a trap for Catherine Weaver and the others came to rescue her?"

"I thought of that myself already, but it doesn't make sense. Why steal the thermite and set the bunker on fire?"

"Maybe their intention was to burn her body in there. It would have left no traces. We know that someone or something was burned inside there to a degree that we cannot tell anymore if it was human remains or not. I'd say the plan of the three attackers turned against them and they were burned in there instead of by Catherine Weaver."

"So, you think our yet unknown participants in the Dodge RAM went there to rescue Weaver, got into a firefight with the three time travelers who - as far as we can tell - were three Terminators, brought them down with their special gun, and then burned their bodies in the bunker?"

"It would explain everything," Heiler said nodding. "Don't you agree?"

"It would mean that whoever they were, they knew who or rather what they'd encounter, and brought the right guns to the fight."

"Maybe they were an assault team under Weaver's leadership?"

"Maybe, I don't know... We should have a talk with that sheriff in Sisters, see if there's anything else he can tell us about the alleged prank call."

"Do you think it might have not been a prank call at all? Is that why we're heading east instead of back to Portland?"

"Yup. Call it gut instinct, if you want."

For a moment, none of them talked.

"Steve?"

"Yes, Jennifer?"

"About the other two footprints… the male ones in low shoes that led into the bunker and the high heels that walked out again...?"

"What about it?"

"I know it sounds crazy but…"

"Spill it out."

"Could it be that Catherine Weaver is in fact a shapeshifter?"

 **-0-0-0-**

 _ **Author's notes:**_

 _ **\- Introduction of two new characters. Which side are they on? :-)**_

 _ **\- Cranked the lemon part up a notch. Don't pretend you don't like it. Chapters with lemons get a lot more views than chapters without, you dirty bastards ;-)**_

 _ **\- Random thought: I just re-watched some episodes of TSCC to get into the mood and I came to think how easy the writers of the series had it with telling the story. They didn't need to fill the time between scenes and episodes. They simply made a cut. For instance, it's a three-hour drive from L.A. to Mexico, so six hours in total. And all John and Cameron talked about was how it felt having your foot stretched out of the window? Come on…**_

 _ **\- Just for the record: I'm done with Andy and Mike. They fulfilled their purpose and won't appear again.**_

 _ **\- As always, feedback is welcome.**_


	22. Shades of Gray (revised)

**_CHAPTER 22: "SHADES OF GRAY" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 – 11:32 a.m.**

 **Highway 20, outside of Sisters, Oregon**

"There," Charley said on the passenger seat, "it's got to be in there."

Sarah stepped on the brake and turned into a narrow, unpaved forest road, which branched off from the highway.

"I hope you're right," she replied, "because if you're not, we'll have to back up all the way. There's no way to turn the Suburban around here."

"The sheriff gave us the GPS coordinates, remember? Relax, it's the right way."

Behind them, Derek and Lauren sat in the second row. Between them was baby Sydney in her baby seat. The third row was shared by John, Cameron and Alison. John was sitting between his two girlfriends, which meant that he had to rest his hands on the naked thighs of the cyborg girls to avoid toppling over in the corners. He realized that his mother was constantly checking the rear-view mirror to see if anything improper was going on back there. However, she didn't say anything.

They had put the body of the triple-eight into the trunk. It rested behind the third row of seats and just to be sure, they had placed a blanket and Sydney's baby carriage over it. Since both Cameron and Alison only wore shorts and a tank top, they had put their guns into a rucksack they brought along. Besides their Glocks, they also brought their freshly reloaded anti-terminator guns, just in case. Derek and Sarah went without guns. Everyone felt it was enough protection to have the girls bringing theirs.

After five more minutes of driving, they finally entered a clearing in the woods with a wooden house and a large shed in the middle of it. Although the sun was at its highest at this time of day, the surrounding high trees provided sufficient shade. The clearing on which the farm buildings stood, had a diameter of about two hundred feet, and the entire property was fenced in by a coarse wooden bridle to prevent the animals of the forest from entering the property.

They immediately knew they had reached the right place when they saw the sheriff's patrol car parked in front of the shed. Sarah drove the Suburban through the open gate and parked right next to it. Apparently, their arrival hadn't gone unnoticed, because Nick Nelson appeared in the open door of the shed. He didn't wear his uniform, instead he had put on a plaid shirt, a pair of jeans and cowboy boots. If it wasn't for the missing hat and the lack of spurs on his boots, he would have passed as the perfect cliché of a cowboy.

"I just finished preparing the pit," he said as they left the Suburban.

Nick Nelson shook hands with Sarah, Derek, John and Lauren, then hesitated a bit when he reached Cameron and Alison.

"Hey, I'm sorry for that," he stated and pointed at Cameron's chest below the neck where she wore a band-aid. "It was a reflex action."

"No problem," she replied and ripped it off. "See?"

Nick Nelson could see that the wound was already closed. Now it looked more like a burn mark.

"Wow, that's healing fast," he remarked in astonishment, then looked at Alison. "What about you?"

"I better leave the band-aids and the patch on my forehead attached until tomorrow," she answered. "This way it's easier to explain that I ran into a door… if someone asks."

Nelson nodded and looked at the group.

"That's two very remarkable, uh… girls you have there."

"You can say that again," Sarah remarked and looked with a sour smile at the two lightly dressed teenagers.

Cameron and Alison just rolled their eyes.

"Sometimes Sarah's really uptight," Alison said. "It was one of the first things John told me about her when I first met him."

"Wait, what?" Sarah asked and looked at her son with a raised eyebrow.

John was slowly turning red in the face.

"I… um…" he started and cleared his throat, "I had to come up with something... she kept asking questions and was rather nosy and..."

"It was an effective strategy, John" Cameron interrupted him, "you've trained your son well, Sarah. Although I showed him clear signs of my interest in him as a boy, he didn't responded to that at first."

"Is that so?" Sarah replied with a smirk. "Well, his resistance didn't last very long. Until the first gas station, I'd say."

Charley loudly cleared his throat.

"It's a nice place you have here," he said to change the topic. "Is that a farmhouse?"

"Uh… yes…" Nick replied a little confused, tearing his eyes away from the girls. "This used to be a cattle farm when my grandfather owned it. But it wasn't a profitable business, so my father sold the land. The new owners grow pine trees for Christmas there now. All that's left these days, is this house, a few acres of wood around it and the forest road from the highway."

"You're living here alone?" Sarah asked.

"Yes... I'm divorced. My two sons are with my ex-wife in Portland, I see them once a month. She married a guy who owns some computer startup there."

"You said the pit is ready?" Derek asked. "Can we take a look? The sooner we get rid of the Triple-Eight's body, the better."

"Uh, yeah… sure. Follow me."

He led them into the shed where they saw that he'd had layered the cinder blocks as John had described to him the night before.

"Will that do?" Nelson asked.

"Yes," Cameron confirmed. "Do you have the thermite?"

"Not yet. An old friend of mine, Peter Farnsworth, always has a stock. He's a welder, specialized in building metal fences. My father worked for him and he taught me how to weld. I called him this morning and told him I needed to do some welding. He promised to come by later with a bucketful of thermite. He won't ask any questions. After all, I'm the sheriff."

"We can prepare the body already," Derek said and looked at Cameron and Alison.

The two nodded and went outside to get the Triple-Eight's body. When they returned, with Cameron carrying the dead Terminator over her shoulder, everyone saw that they'd already removed its clothes and boots. Alison was carrying them in a garbage bag and had also brought a dozen more of those bags which they'd snatched from their three cabins.

Cameron carefully lowered the body into the pit. Nick Nelson was looking with some unease at the remains of the Terminator that had almost killed him, still trying to get his head around the fact that a killer machine from the future was sent out to terminate him and that without the help of his guests, he'd be dead now. John noticed his discomfort.

"How did it go with the accident report and the body of the Triple-Eight's victim?" he asked.

"I've spent all morning with writing my report on the _'dead poacher who crashed into a tree during his pursuit, flying through the windshield on impact',_ " Nick told them. "The forensics found it strange that he was in his underwear and that his clothes were nowhere to be found, but since I couldn't give them an explanation either, they accepted it with a shrug in the end. We're in the countryside here, people normally don't doubt what the sheriff says, we don't do things like they do them in the big city. Hence, my word counts a lot around here. It also helped that the guy had already been convicted several times, among other things for stalking his ex-girlfriend. That makes it all a bit more plausible. _'A stalker in underwear? Just another fucking pervert who scares away the tourists...'_. The guy had no family, no relatives. As long as nobody from out-of-town starts asking questions, the case is closed. I guess we were lucky. Oh... and the insurance will pay for the damage to my car."

"That's good news," John said. "One less thing to worry about. It occurred to me too late that we should have put the clothes back on the dead body. Sorry for the inconvenience."

"It's okay. Something to tell my grandchildren about. What's with the plastic bags?"

"We need to remove the bio shell first," Cameron explained, "thermite burns with up to 2,500 degrees Celsius, enough to evaporate the metal endoskeleton, but the tissue contains water and would cool down the reaction, making a complete destruction more difficult. There mustn't be any remains. Also, the smell is… quite unpleasant for human noses. If some surprise visitor should stop by..."

"So... You mean you're going to… peel the flesh from his bones?" Nelson asked with a disgusted expression.

"It's not a _him_ ," Sarah corrected. "It's an _it_. Don't humanize these things. In contrast to Cameron and Alison, that Triple-Eight is rather primitive. It hadn't developed self-awareness and wasn't alive. Instead, it was just following a programmed mission, like an extremely sophisticated automaton."

"The fact that a Triple-Eight is a less sophisticated cyborg than we are doesn't mean that it's primitive and that it cannot come alive," Alison objected. "Uncle Bob was only a T-800 and even he could develop a consciousness after John had set his chip to read/write. With a Triple-Eight, it's harder because Skynet has built-in protective measures... but theoretically and with enough time, a T-888 can come alive as well."

"Unfortunately, we don't have time to wait for that to happen," Derek replied. "Usually we're being forced to kill them before we can even say hello, otherwise they'd kill us first. You can't argue with these."

"That's a correct observation," Cameron stated. "And also the reason why Alison and I have never objected to killing them."

"Who's uncle Bob?" Nick Nelson asked.

"That's a… long story," John said. "I'd say we discuss that over lunch. I suggest you let Cam and Alison do what they have to do now. You don't have to watch this if you don't want to."

"Uh… no, it's alright," Nick stated. "I guess I need to see what's underneath its skin to really grasp it all."

"Suit yourself."

Alison and Cameron started making the cuts and systematically removed the tissue from the body in chunks, putting them into the garbage bags. Bit by bit the shiny endoskeleton was exposed, and Nelson stared at it with growing awe.

"Jesus Christ," he exclaimed, when the girls were finished. "This is really scary. No wonder he wouldn't go down despite getting shot at multiple times."

"It's almost impossible to kill them with conventional ammo alone," Derek explained. "Maybe a whole squadron with machine guns could achieve that. But if you don't have an army, only armor-piercing ammunition has a chance of stopping them at all."

Nelson looked at Cameron and Alison, who cleaned their knifes and washed their hands in the small sink in the shed.

"Are you two… I mean… do you… look the same… you know… underneath?"

"Yes," Cameron said. "We very much look like that underneath. Chassis designs for Terminators are quite standardized. There are minor differences, though, like your human skeletons also show minor differences, but the basic layout is the same: the access port for the chip, the location of the power cell... it makes production a lot easier when different models can be built on the same assembly line."

Nick Nelson shuddered.

"That sounds like you're describing a car factory," he said.

"It was mass production," Alison confirmed, "only slowed down by a lack of raw materials. In the beginning, up to 150 cyborgs could be produced daily. But the longer the war lasted, the more the production suffered from a shortage of raw materials. In the end, only 10 Terminators were produced per day. We know that Skynet and the Grays were looking for ways to use other materials, for example carbon nanotubes. They had the necessary rigidness but lacked heat resistance and were too brittle. At least until we traveled back to the past, there was no progress on that."

"So... how exactly are you different from this model here in the pit?"

"Obviously, our bodies are more compact," Alison explicated, trying to sound comforting, "and we have a slightly thicker armor over the chest plate. We can also move faster and react much quicker because we have more advanced servos and thus a better body control. You could say that basically our bodies were designed to make a more convincing human impersonation than a Triple-Eight."

"But the main difference is of course the architecture of our CPU," Cameron added. "This Triple-Eight here had a chip design that wasn't optimized to imitate human behavior as convincingly as possible, but rather to use the most effective strategy to detect, track and eliminate targets. His chip was set to read/read by default. That means he couldn't add newly acquired experiences to his database and learn from them. They're slaves to Skynet's programming. Our chips, on the other hand, have been optimized to copy human behavior as convincingly as possible. For this it was necessary that they were set to read/write right from the start."

"In other words," Alison continued, "we were able to make our own decisions and, if necessary, change the variables of our programming - if the mission required it. But this also resulted in us quickly realizing how wrong Skynet's strategy was, so we changed sides. And in time, our chip architecture enabled us to develop emotions, feelings and not only copy or imitate human behavior but actually experience it. That's how we learned to feel love, anger, jealousy, joy, sadness, etcetera."

Nelson stared at them, then looked down and shook his head.

"Unbelievable," he muttered.

"I know what you're thinking now," Charley said to him. "I used to be in the same situation. The notion of what they really are can be scary, but I learned to trust Cameron and Alison. They've become more than just cyborgs to me, more than just machines. They're friends, members of the family even."

Cameron and Alison smiled warmly at Charley.

"Things are never only black and white," Lauren stated. "It's like in a war… you see the enemy approaching and wouldn't be able to imagine that under different circumstances, he could have been a friend."

"And it's even harder to imagine that with machines as your enemy," John added. "But we have to keep an open mind because if we like it or not, A.I.'s gonna come. It's on the rise everywhere, even without Skynet and Judgement Day. It might take longer without a war - wars always accelerate technological development - but it'll come. So, maybe not in twenty years but in fifty. There's no way to avoid it on the long run, and either we become friends with artificial intelligence, or we'll have to fight it. I'd rather us being friends."

Everyone nodded and made agreeing utterances.

"Skynet is that computer who took over all other computers in the world and started the nuclear holocaust, right?" Nick asked, trying to remember all the information they'd given him yesterday. "The artificial intelligence you and your mother were trying to prevent from being developed, which is why you blew up Cyberdine."

"Miles Dyson blew it up," Sarah corrected, "But yes, preventing Skynet was the intention. Unfortunately, the future isn't as easy to change as we'd hoped."

"We realized that in the long run it will be inevitable for computers to develop their own consciousness," John explained. "But it is up to us whether they will be friendly or hostile. We have to teach them ethics and morality. But in the hands of the military or profit-oriented companies, it is very likely that's not gonna happen. They're only thinking of exploiting A.I. for their purposes or to make profit."

"Phew… I guess there's a lot I need to learn before the end of the day," Nick remarked. "I'm a complete layman when it comes to computers."

"We're here to help you with that," John said smiling. "We will share our unique knowledge and insights with you."

"Alright, then I suggest we get the grill going," Nick replied. "And we should cover up the skeleton. Old man Farnsworth would get a heart attack if he entered the shed without saying _'hi'_ to us before."

"Good idea," John stated.

They threw the clothes of the Triple-Eight into the pit onto the endoskeleton, then put an old tarpaulin over it and secured it with some leftover cinder blocks.

"Do you have shovels? We need to dig a hole for the flesh."

"You're going to bury it?" Nelson asked surprised.

"When no longer connected to the body, it'll rot within a couple of days," Alison said. "We dig a hole in the ground and fill it up with soil again. Mother nature will do the rest."

Nelson handed John, Alison and Cameron three shovels. The three took the bags with the biological remains and walked off with it. They chose a place about a hundred feet into the forest and started digging a hole in the ground.

"So, what do you think of sheriff Nelson?" John asked.

"He could become a valuable ally," Cameron answered. "But he's still nervous and he has a lot to learn. He's also still unsure if this will have any negative personal consequences for him."

"Yes, it'll need some convincing," Alison agreed. "And he's a little isolated out here, which won't make it easier for him. He's too far away from the music."

John smiled at Alison's correct use of a figure of speech.

"We stick to our plan," he stated. "Everyone of us will tell their story. He should be very interested in that. We'll be completely open and honest to prove to him that we're the good guys and that all the stories about mom that have gone through the media, have been greatly distorted and exaggerated."

"We understand that part, John," Cameron said, "but we fail to understand what use an ally could have to us out here and so far away from us."

"No immediate use," John admitted. "But there's a very vital high-tech scene in the greater Portland area. They call it the _'Silicon Forest'_ , referring to Silicon Valley. Nick mentioned that his ex-wife married the owner of such a start-up. If we ever need to scout something there, it'd be nice to have a local who can investigate. We can't drive here for thirteen hours for just a minor research."

"Maybe we can convince him to relocate closer to Portland?" Cameron suggested.

"Let's take this step by step," John said. "First let us get rid of this flesh."

 **-0-**

 **Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 – 12:35 p.m.**

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Jennifer Heiler asked. "It's already lunchtime and it seems we got lost."

She was driving the black Ford Crown Victoria on a narrow, unpaved road through the forest near Sisters while Steve Goldman had spread out a roadmap on his lap.

"I'm relying on the description the sheriff's office gave us on the phone." Goldman replied.

Heiler smiled.

"You should have asked for the coordinates and used the GPS."

"I don't trust them," Goldman stated. "Haven't you heard of those people who accidentally drove into a river or into a field because they trusted their GPS? The more we make ourselves dependable on such things, the worse our future will be, you know that. I'm fine with handling an old-fashioned map."

"Fair enough but admit it, Steve, we're lost."

"Nah, we're not."

Just then, the road ended in a dead end.

"All right, we're lost. Just turn around. We're probably one junction to early or too late."

Heiler sighed, then looked for a fitting spot and turned the car around. Goldman flipped his map by 180 degrees.

"The junction to the sheriff's house must have been a bit more north, it obviously was easy to overlook."

"If he wouldn't have his day off today, we'd already be on our way back to Portland to catch our plane. And I doubt we'll learn anything from him anyway."

"You'll see your boyfriend soon enough," Goldman remarked with a smirk.

"He's not my…" Heiler replied in an annoyed tone, "we just met once and… and it's not your business anyway!"

Goldman just smiled. A couple of minutes later, they reached the highway again and turned right in northern direction.

"There," he said a moment later and pointed out of the window. "That must be it. Turn right here."

 **-0-**

John and the girls had buried the Triple-Eight's biological remains in the pit they dug and were just finished with filling it up again, when they heard a car coming towards them on the forest road that led up to the sheriff's house. It was a black sedan with government license plates.

"That doesn't look good," John stated and started walking briskly towards the sheriff's house with the girls following close behind.

"Do you think the sheriff notified the FBI?" Alison asked.

"Wouldn't make any sense to send only one car then," he said. "Nick Nelson knows they'd have no chance against you. They'd probably send a full squat team or even the military. No, I think this is something else, something unexpected."

"What shall we do?"

"Assess the situation and then decide. Did you by any chance bring one of our home-made tracking devices?"

"There should be one left in the spare wheel recess," Cameron replied.

"Good," John said. "Go get it and see that you put it on that FBI car but don't let yourself get caught."

"If someone ever catches me doing that, you can scrap me," Cameron remarked with a wink.

 **-0-**

Agents Heiler and Goldman parked, got out and checked out the black Chevrolet Suburban with California license plates that was parked next to the sheriff's patrol car.

"Looks like the sheriff has visitors," Heiler remarked. "From California."

"And from the smell of it, they're preparing a barbecue," Goldman said. "Man, I hate being a party crasher on an empty stomach."

"One more reason to get this over with quickly," Heiler replied and together they started walking around the house.

When they reached the back yard, Heiler and Goldman saw three men around a large smoker grill that looked like it was welded together from discarded metal. They also saw a young teenage girl putting a white table cloth over a large wooden table. A baby was babbling in a baby carriage next to it.

"Good morning!" Goldman said with a raised voice and all four persons turned around to face him. "I'm sorry for the interruption but we're looking for sheriff Nick Nelson."

The three men looked surprised and exchanged looks. Finally, one of them stepped forward.

"I'm Nick Nelson, what can I do for you?"

He walked towards them and shook hands with Heiler and Goldman, who introduced themselves and held out their FBI badges to him.

"Can we talk somewhere private?" Heiler asked.

"Sure, let's get over there," Nelson suggested and started walking to a point about a hundred feet away, where an overgrown path led into the forest. He gave Derek and Charley a quick look and shrugged to make them understand he didn't know what this was about. Heiler and Goldman followed him, paying no attention to the others.

They had started questioning Nelson about last night's caller, when John and the girls turned around the corner and entered the backyard. Heiler noticed them and frowned. They looked familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it, then kept following the conversation between Nelson and Goldman again.

"I couldn't find the barbecue sauce," Sarah said, coming out of the house and stepping into the back yard.

"It's already on the table," Lauren replied.

Sarah saw the sheriff standing with the two visitors, wondering who they were. John, Alison and Cameron also entered the back yard and crossed paths with Sarah.

"Mom! FBI! Turn around! Now!" he hissed quietly but with a commanding tone and grabbed her by the shoulders in an attempt to turn her around.

But Heiler had already spotted her. As she looked at Sarah's face, she frowned… then recognition hit her, and her pulse raised immediately. A tingling went down her spine and cold sweat started forming on her forehead. Sarah Connor! And the boy was John Connor! She also recognized the girls, one of them at least. Cameron Philipps! The picture from the bank robbery in L.A. in 1999 had burned itself into her memory. But how was that possible? They were dead!

Trying not to panic and desperately trying not to show she'd recognized them, she nudged Goldman, who turned around to see what she wanted. He then saw Sarah, John and the girls, and suddenly his face went pale.

"Uh… thank you for your help, sheriff," Heiler said, trying to stay composed. "We agree that it was probably a prank. If you should have any further questions, call us." She handed him a business card. "I guess we should drive into town and grab some lunch now, don't you think, Steve?"

"Good idea, Jennifer," he replied and forced a smile.

"I can recommend _'The Gallery'_ in Sisters," Nick stated. "Good food for reasonable prices."

"Uh, thanks, we'll do that," Goldman responded and walked away quickly with Heiler following close behind, deliberately not looking at the other people in the back yard.

John, Sarah and the girls followed their movement. Derek, Charley and Lauren joined with them.

"Have they recognized you?" Derek asked with a worried face.

"Change of skin color, sweaty forehead, walking away a bit too fast," Cameron listed. "Those are signs of sudden stress. I therefore assume they recognized us."

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked. "I didn't notice anything."

"I'm sure as well," Alison said. "They were shocked to see you here and tried to make it look like they haven't recognized us."

"What are we gonna do, mom?" John asked. "We can't just kill two FBI agents, especially since it would get Nick Nelson involved."

"Relax," Derek appeased, "you're not wanted anymore, remember? They probably recognized your faces from memory and will be surprised when they find there's no warrant for you anymore – or anything else about you in their system."

Nick Nelson joined them.

"Something wrong?" he asked with a frown.

"We need to find out what they know and what they're going to do," Cameron said, ignoring his question. "We already put a tracking device on their car. I will take the Suburban and follow them to see what they'll do now."

Sarah handed her the car keys.

"Okay, do that, Tin Miss. Keep us informed. Be careful. And don't kill them!"

"Of course not," Cameron said, "that would be counterproductive and cause more trouble than necessary."

She gave John a quick but loving kiss, then hugged Alison and left. Nelson frowned upon that clear display of affection.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Where's she going?"

"Those two FBI agents probably recognized our faces," John explained.

"But didn't you say you're still considered dead and that your data has been deleted out of the system?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean people won't remember our faces anymore. We need to know what they're going to do," Sarah said. "Cameron will follow them and hopefully find out what they're up to."

 **-0-**

"Are we being followed?" Goldman asked when they entered highway 20 again and drove towards Sisters.

"No," Heiler answered.

"All right, pull over," he said and Heiler did as he requested.

They both took a deep breath.

"You recognized them as well, didn't you?" Heiler asked, noticing her hands were shaking.

"Yes," Goldman replied and pulled a laptop from the backseat. "But we should make sure. I should have stored some pictures on here, just in case."

"It's the first time I'm glad you're keeping this ancient laptop. Everyone else has moved on. You might be the only one with their pics still saved on a hard drive and not in the cloud."

"Why would I buy something new if the old is still working fine?"

"Because Windows 98 sucks…? Never mind, just keep looking."

They started browsing through several pictures of Sarah Connor and then remained with the one from the bank explosion in 1999.

"It's them. All three of them," Goldman said. "And they haven't aged a bit, that much is clear. John Connor should be... what... twenty-four now? But he looked like he was still sixteen. Same with the girl."

"But how's that possible?" Heiler asked. "They were killed and officially declared dead in 1999."

"You know how it's possible," Goldman pointed out. "I think I don't need to explain the concept of time travel to you. And surely I don't need to tell you who was responsible for erasing all the evidence and for silencing people, so that the story was never scrutinized."

"At least now we know for sure why human remains had never been found in the rubble of the bank. Do you think the sheriff might be involved with them?"

"It's hard to say. It might be a coincidence but frankly I don't believe in such coincidences. He's involved somehow, I'm sure, but I don't know to what degree. At least this explains the incident at the bunker. I think we now have a good idea who killed the three Terminators. And it looks like Sarah Connor has joined forces with Catherine Weaver, which - if your theory about her is right - lifts the whole thing up to another level."

"Yeah, this is huge," Heiler agreed and sounded a little desperate. "But what are we gonna do? This is not what we came here for. Should we call for reinforcements? There's a resident agency of the FBI, just 25 miles from here."

"Calm down, Jennifer. Let's check the data bank first," Goldman suggested and went online via their car's satellite connection. "Who knows? Maybe there's been added something new since we last looked."

However, when he typed in the keywords _'Sarah Connor'_ , no result was displayed..

"What?" he asked in surprise. "Two weeks ago, the system flared up like a Christmas tree with warnings and alerts when you entered her name. And now… nothing?"

"Typo maybe?" Heiler suggested carefully.

"No typo," Goldman said vigorously. "They've been removed from the data bank. Also, all documents connected to Miles Dyson's death are gone. It's a clean swipe."

"That's impossible," Heiler responded. "How could they have been removed? The FBI database is highly protected against hacker attacks."

"Weaver," Goldman said and stared straight ahead. "It must have been her. She certainly has the money and the technology. God, I hate computers, we've become so dependent on them. We cannot even go to some old file cabinet at the archives and check manually… it's all been scanned and digitalized. No one will be able to connect the Connors to anything anymore without the data bank entries."

He looked at his laptop once more and then laughed hysterically.

"There isn't even a warrant anymore. Nothing. Zip. We can't call for reinforcements because there's nothing in the system to back it up, only what's in our heads."

"I think that was the intention of wiping the system clean," Heiler commented sourly. "Still, it's hard to imagine that even the biggest tech company could do that. The amount of computing power behind this must be… astronomical. More than anyone else has, including the NSA. We should check other data bases. Have you tried Interpol?"

"Yes… nothing. I might be wrong, but I have a hunch their data and pictures have been removed on a worldwide scale. Which means they can go anywhere and even run into the police and get their fingerprints taken without raising an alarm."

Healer took a deep breath.

"That's bad because it enables them to work completely under the radar. What are they planning to do? Sarah Connor isn't the type of woman who sits quietly in the sun and waits until the world ends. They must be up to something."

"I have no idea, Jennifer, but we have to face the fact that we're now dealing with forces we know nothing about, despite all the decades of research and documentation. Something new was created directly under our noses and so far, nobody knows about it. We're the only ones."

"What do we do, Steve? We know she's one of the most wanted persons in America, a terrorist and a killer… but according to the system, she doesn't even have a parking ticket. If we stirred an alarm, everyone would think we're crazy."

"I can't think with an empty stomach," Goldman said. "The sheriff won't run away, and the Connors don't have any reason to run away anymore. They'll stay there, continue having their barbecue. But frankly I'm surprised nobody's following us. I thought they were be cleverer."

"What are you suggesting, Steve? Doing nothing?"

"I'm suggesting calming down, Jennifer. Let's not rush things. First of all, we have to organize our thoughts. And the best way to do that, is having lunch."

"You can't be serious!"

"What would be the alternative? Going back there, confront and trying to arrest them? We're outnumbered and they're probably heavily armed. Would be stupid without reinforcement. And even if we'd storm the place with a SWAT team, they'd be out again in a jiffy and we'd have to answer for deprivation of liberty. There is no fucking arrest warrant!"

"But people will know that it cannot be. People will remember her from the 1990's, they'll know she's been wanted. Surely they will realize who she is and..."

"And what? If they're in league with Catherine Weaver, then they're also in league with her army of lawyers. Besides, Sarah Connor alive? That would make major headlines and it would raise questions. The media can't be allowed to smell a rat, or everything will just get worse. You know very well that the opposition won't allow that. If we act too hastily and impulsively now, this will turn very ugly very quickly and we'd be straight into the line of fire of our enemies Our entire organization would be at stake, for crying out loud!"

Jennifer said nothing for a moment.

"You're right," she then stated. "We need to think about our next steps. But we definitely should inform the board."

"Yes, definitely," Steve replied and reached for his phone. "They're gonna flip, I can tell you that."

 **-0-**

Cameron saw that the dot on the display of her cellphone had stopped. Apparently, the FBI agents had halted their car, probably to check if they're being followed and talk about their strategy. But Cameron didn't need to remain in visual range, so she stopped, moved down the windows and smelled the fresh forest air. She had allowed her pursuit subroutines to take over. It had been a while since she was in full Terminator mode and it suddenly felt very alien to her, as if the most important parts of her personality had been forced to stay hidden in the background. She didn't like it, she felt uncomfortable. It seemed so unnatural to lock away her feelings and emotions. She missed them immediately.

" _What is happening to me?"_ she thought with alarm. _"I'm starting to feel less and less like a machine and not only around John but also around everyone else."_

She knew that while her love for John constantly grew, she had also developed real feelings of friendship for the others. Even for Derek. She no longer needed to justify her concern for everyone's wellbeing with her desire to protect John. She realized that she really cared for them, they were her friends and family, the thought of losing even one of them brought up a deep feeling of dread and sadness.

"I'm a cyborg, I'm a computer, I'm a machine, I don't fear anything," she spoke out aloud.

She analyzed her CPU's reaction to those words. But there was nothing, only cold data. It was just a statement of a fact. She thought about it and then decided to give it a different approach.

"I'm a girl, I'm a woman, I feel, I sense, I live."

A torrent of emotions flooded her CPU. It almost overwhelmed her. She looked around, watched the blue sky, the lush green of the forest, the sounds of rustling trees, of birds and other animals. She felt the wind blowing in her hair through the open windows, she smiled at a squirrel running up a tree. Suddenly, the world seemed brighter, more colorful, more beautiful than ever.

"I'M ALIVE!" she shouted and laughed out loudly. "I love JOHN CONNOR!"

Shouting it out felt so right, so good, so satisfying. Her power cell pulsed very quickly. She felt joy and happiness, as if a floodgate had been broken and all the dammed-up feelings and emotions were now pouring down on her like a flash flood. How and when did this happen? It could have only happened in the past hours, and it had to have happened very quickly. It seemed like the process of becoming a sentient living being was accelerating more and more with every passing day.

"I'M A GIRL! A WOMAN! AND I'M IN LOVE WITH JOHN CONNOR! YES!"

What had triggered it? And was Alison feeling the same? Was she also discovering this overwhelming new part of her personality? She had to talk to her about it later. A talk between sisters. Yes, Alison was her sister and she loved her very much. The bond between John, Alison and herself seemed so strong now, so unbreakable, so indestructible. Nothing could ever weaken it. Nothing would come between them. Maybe _that_ was the driving force behind the sudden development. Cameron wanted to savor, explore and enjoy this new flood of emotions. She wanted to allow her feelings to overwhelm her. It felt so right to let go and let the feelings take over. She didn't want to turn them off any longer, not even in Terminator mode. She loved it.

"I'M A SENTIENT BEING! AND I LOVE BEING ALIVE!"

As her voice echoed through the forest, a deep feeling of satisfaction overcame her and she smiled, closing her eyes. However, she was pulled out of it by a beeping noise, and she suddenly noticed that the small dot on her phone moving out of range.

"Shit!"

She started the engine and resumed her pursuit.

Cameron had allowed herself to become distracted by her emotions. That was new, and she didn't know if that was good or bad, so she decided to explore it further. Also, in her self-reflective state, Cameron hadn't consciously noticed the silver van that had passed by on the highway just a minute ago.

 **-0-**

 **Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 – 01:07 p.m.**

 **Sisters, Oregon**

Agents Heiler and Goldman found the recommended restaurant _"The Gallery"_ on Cascade Avenue and turned right to park their car. The parking lot was pretty full, but they found an empty space at the very end of it. Thanks to the sudden heat of the day, almost no people could be seen outside. Most of them stayed in their air-conditioned homes or workplaces at this time of day.

They left their car and entered the restaurant, a rustic place with a bar in the back. The dining area was filled with people, but they were lucky, and the waitress guided them to a table by the window where a couple had just stood up and left. It was a table for four, but Goldman just showed his FBI badge and made sure the waitress understood that they wanted to be left alone. After checking the menu, Heiler decided to order a Caesar's Salad with chicken, Goldman went for an open-faced steak sandwich.

"So, what are we gonna do?" Heiler tried again after they had ordered their food. "We cannot just do nothing. Sarah Connor is one of the most wanted persons. Well… at least she used to be."

"The question is if we really _want_ to do something," Goldman said. "All the charges against her were made by people who don't know what we know today. The only one who ever came close to the truth, was James Ellison, and he quit and left for the private sector after his team was killed by one of those killer machines."

"He would have been a great asset to our organization." Heiler agreed. "But Sarah Connor is everything but innocent. The damage she brought about…"

"… was as far as we know only directed at buildings and objects. You were there when we talked to Terissa Dyson. She doesn't believe her husband was killed by her. In fact, she insisted that he worked together with Sarah Connor in blowing up his working place. We know she was silenced, and that the truth was covered up by the Shadow Council. All we can accuse Sarah Connor of, is property damage and vandalism."

"Dyson's son still believes she killed his father, though."

"How old was Danny at the time? Seven? Eight? His mother certainly didn't tell him the whole truth because she wanted to protect her him. Also, she didn't want to end up like Sarah Connor in a loony bin. But I believe what she'd said to our agents, I don't believe Miles was killed by Sarah, I believe he was killed by the SWAT team. You know how much progress our organization has made since then."

"Yeah well, but the Air Force and all the other agencies have a different opinion."

Goldman scoffed contemptuously.

"The Air Force," he said and shook his head. "The other agencies... Spare me their bullshit. Their intellect dissolves into nothing as soon as they think they can get their hands on a new weapon, a new technology or anything that helps America to maintain its number one position in the world. But you and I know what the future has in store, you and I know what's going to happen if they're being allowed to go on like that, uncontrolled, left to their own devices. I don't wanna see that happen, Jennifer. I don't want the world as we know it destroyed."

"That's something we can agree on, Steve. But it doesn't solve our immediate problem. We now know that Sarah and John Connor are alive and that they're a few miles away from here, having a casual barbecue with the local sheriff. What are we supposed to do, Steve? She might not be a murderer but bombing companies and buildings is still considered a felony, if not terrorism. You know as well as I that she's probably up to something. And if they're in league with Weaver, it's probably something big. People could die, Steve..."

Goldman was lost in thoughts for a moment.

"Maybe…" he mused.

"Maybe what?"

Steve looked her in the eyes.

"We heard so much _about_ her, but all our knowledge is only second or even third hand. Maybe it's time we changed that and got some firsthand knowledge for a change."

"Oh no, Steve. You're not planning on confronting her, are you? Bad idea. Really bad idea. One thing we know for certain is that she has a temper. You saw the recordings from Pescadero. And she was only armed with a stick and a syringe there. She's a trained guerilla fighter and probably heavily armed now, not to mention that we're outnumbered."

"Maybe the sheriff can be of help here," Goldman said. "I can't imagine he'd be in cahoots with a raving psycho terrorist."

Their talk was interrupted by the waitress serving their food, so they decided to postpone it until after they had eaten.

 **-0-**

Cameron parked the Suburban on the side of the street about a hundred yards away. She had followed the FBI agents into Sisters. From a distance, she watched them enter the restaurant the sheriff had recommended, then she dialed John's number.

 _"Hey Cam, what's the status?"_ he answered the phone.

"Hey John. They entered _'The Gallery'_ for lunch. Do you have any further instructions for me?"

 _"Uh, no... We're still talking here. We're all trying to convince sheriff Nelson that we're not a threat to national security and that his career is not hanging by a thread for helping us. Derek is currently showing him his scars."_

"Oooh… if Derek has started showing his war wounds, it means he's already had a few beers."

 _"Yeah… actually the sheriff had a couple already as well and is also showing some scars in return. At least it helps easing the tension."_

"Right. I'll keep on observing them."

 _"Yes. Try to get a little closer, though. Maybe you can overhear what they're talking about."_

"They know how I look like and I didn't have time to camouflage myself, so I better keep my distance. But from what I can make out through the window, they're engaged in a dispute of sorts. It's very likely they have different opinions on how to act upon what they found out."

 _"They probably learned by now that we're not in the system anymore. Stay with them, Cam, I have a hunch they might come back here after lunch. Talk to you later. Love you, take care."_

"I love you too, John. See you later."

Cameron ended the call, switched the phone to her tracking app again and kept watching the restaurant. Thirty-five minutes later, the FBI agents exited the place again. They walked around the corner towards the parking lot and out of Cameron's sight, unaware of the fact that they were being watched.

A minute passed, a silver van drove off the parking lot, but the car of the FBI agents didn't show up and the dot didn't move on the display. Carefully, Cameron drove forward and considered the parking lot while slowly passing by. The black Ford Crown Victoria still stood in its place. Cameron zoomed in with her eye vision but there was no trace of the agents. She noticed, however, that the passenger door hadn't been fully closed. That was odd.

She decided to play the past minutes in her mind again to analyze the events. The FBI agents left the restaurant, turned around the corner, a silver van left… She replayed her memories from almost an hour ago and now saw that the same silver van had passed by on the road while she had been in her state of bliss!

 _"You were too fixated on yourself, stupid."_

In her recording, Cameron zoomed in on the van when it was leaving the parking lot to see if she could make out the driver. He was wearing a gray overall and a gray baseball cap. Another man in the same outfit sat on the passenger seat.

"Damn!" she cursed and pushed down the accelerator.

The silver van had just disappeared behind a right-hand bend in the distance. She only hoped it would follow the main road out of town and not turn into the residential areas, where she would lose it for sure. But it stayed on the main road. After the bend, Cameron saw the van again but only briefly before it followed another right-hand bend. She pulled out her phone and dialed John's number.

 _"Yes, Cam?"_

"John. The agents have been kidnapped by Kaliba men."

 _"WHAT?"_

"I recognized their gray overalls and baseball caps. It's my fault, I didn't pay attention. They must have waited for them on the parking lot, knocked them out and loaded them into their van. I didn't realize it in time. I'm sorry."

 _"It's okay. Where are you now?"_

"I'm in pursuit."

 _"Okay, I guess you're on your own, Cam. We don't have a car and we're still in deep conversation with the sheriff. He's slowly coming around."_

"Any instructions, John?"

 _"Just one. Make sure there are no witnesses."_

"Right."

" _You'll do the right thing, I know it. And Cam?"_

"Yes, John?"

" _Take care of yourself, okay?"_

"Always."

 **-0-**

When agents Goldman and Heiler came around, they found themselves in the back of a rolling van, bound with zip ties at their wrists and ankles and gagged with duct tape. Goldman remembered a silver van stopping next to them when they were just about to enter their car, then he was hit by something that caused great pain and lost consciousness. He realized he must have been tasered.

Steve looked at Jennifer and she nodded slightly, which apparently meant she was okay. Goldman looked up and saw two men with gray baseball caps in the front of the van and one more sitting in the back with them, pointing a gun at them while chewing on a tooth pick. He noticed they were awake and started grinning.

"I bet you wouldn't have dreamed of us following you to Oregon, would you?" he said and then spit into agent Heiler's face. "Fucking snoops. Why couldn't you have been good civil servants and remain ignorant like the rest of the FBI, hm? Now you'll see what you'll get for not keeping your nose out of our business."

Suddenly, the van slowed down, and the road got bumpy.

 _"Must've left the paved roads,"_ Goldman thought. _"They're driving to a lonely spot where they can kill us."_

"Turn right there," the man on the passenger seat ordered. "Then follow the tracks until you reach the south side of the reservoir. The trees will give us cover."

The van slowed down, then turned right in a sharp angle and the underground was getting even bumpier. They drove for a couple more minutes, then finally the van stopped.

The men in the front got out, walked around the vehicle and opened the back doors. Goldman and Heiler were pulled out and dragged around the van, then pushed down on their knees. They saw they were at the shore of one of the regional sweet water reservoirs. The bank of the lake was tree-lined with pines that grew higher than the rest of the trees in the vicinity, thanks to their proximity to the water. Indeed, they provided excellent cover against any unwanted viewers.

 _"It's a perfect spot to kill people and getting rid of the bodies,"_ Goldman thought.

The three kidnappers surrounded Goldman and Heiler and looked down on them with malicious joy, obviously gloating in their triumph. All three were carrying guns with silencers.

"I grew up around here," the man who sat in the passenger seat explained, "I know this place from my childhood. We used to sneak out here and skinny-dip at night. The place hasn't changed a bit, and its deep enough to keep its secrets. That's why I chose it for becoming your very own, personal cemetery."

He pulled the duct tape from Goldman's mouth.

"Any last words?"

"Get it over with already, you Kaliba filth," Goldman replied.

The three men grinned and pointed their guns at them.

 **-0-**

The road finally became straight for a mile and Cameron noted with relief that the silver van was still in front of her. However, after the next right-hand bend, it had suddenly disappeared. Cameron hit the brakes and looked around. A large cloud of dust could be seen on the left-hand side of the road. She concluded that the van must have left the highway and was now driving down an unpaved farm lane that branched away from the main road in a forty-five-degree angle. Cameron turned around and followed the van onto the unpaved road.

The cloud of dust provided excellent cover, so the driver of the van wouldn't be able to spot her in his rear-view mirror. When suddenly the cloud of dust cleared, Cameron realized the van had turned right. She hit the brakes and reversed, then followed them into an even dustier farm lane alongside a small lake. She was only a hundred-fifty feet behind them when the van stopped. Cameron did the same and used the cover of a few high-growing pine trees to hide the Suburban from view.

It was obvious that the Kaliba men didn't bring the agents here for a picnic. This was the place where they wanted to kill them. An ideal place, she had to admit. Silently, Cameron left her car and moved towards the spot where the van was parked in stealth mode, hiding behind the trees, staying out of the line of sight.

For a moment, she was tempted by her old Terminator instincts to let Heiler and Goldman die and then kill the three men, who would without a doubt one day become Grays, herself. It would be the most efficient solution. After all, the FBI agents clearly posed a threat. However, in this case, saving the agents' lives might be the better strategy, not to mention that she had been given explicit instructions not to harm them. Their death would only trigger more investigations and endanger their plans, not to mention bringing down the wrath of Sarah upon her.

By now Cameron had also learned that killing wasn't automatically the best solution to every problem or obstacle. In this case for instance, not only would it be stupid and short-sighted to let the FBI agents die, it would also be very careless if they couldn't at least be interrogated beforehand. John would be disappointed, and she didn't want to disappoint John. Besides, if she saved their lives, they'd be in her debt, and who knew what that would be good for?

 **-0-**

Goldman closed his eyes and waited for the sound that would end his life. Instead, he heard the desperate voice of a crying girl.

"Excuse me? Ha... have you seen my dachshund pup... puppy?"

Goldman opened his eyes and immediately recognized her. Cameron Philips, John's classmate from 1999, and she was in tears. He looked at Heiler and she was as perplexed as he was. The three kidnappers had quickly holstered their guns and stared in disbelief at the petite, pretty, barefooted teenage girl, dressed only in a tank top and boxer shorts.

"Get lost!" the co-driver finally replied. "We didn't see your doggie."

"I need to find him," Cameron said and started bawling. "I… I really do, my dad's gonna… gonna beat me if I come home without him. Please… help me find him."

Clearly the three Kaliba men didn't know how to handle the situation. Cameron slowly moved closer, her face drowned in tears, a sight to break anyone's heart. For a moment, the three were completely at a loss what to do. Finally the co-driver recovered from the paralysis and pointed his gun at Cameron. The girl stared at it in apparent shock.

"A really shitty day for you, girl. I suppose your dog's not the only thing you'll lose today. Don't take it personal, you're just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Before he could pull the trigger, though, Cameron wrenched the gun from the man's hand in one swift motion and threw it into the lake, then grabbed his head and broke his neck. All that happened in not much more than a second. There were no tears anymore, no crying, no sign of sadness on her face. Instead, her eyes were glowing in a deep red and she considered the other two men with an intimidating stare.

Goldman and Heiler recoiled in shock as the body of the co-driver went limp in her hands. They stared at Cameron with their mouths and eyes wide open. The two remaining Kaliba men recovered, pulled out their guns and opened fire at Cameron, but she was using the dead co-driver as a shield while closing in on them. When they'd emptied their magazines, she let the dead, bullet-ridden body fall to the ground, whirled around and killed the second men with a well-aimed kick to the head that broke his neck as well.

The third one, the driver, stumbled backwards and fell over his own feet. Cameron picked him up by the throat and pressed him against the side of the van with his feet dangling in the air. She wrenched the gun from his hand, squashed it to metal pulp and threw it into the lake as well. The man kicked his legs in blind panic, clawing his hands into her forearm while his face slowly turned purple. Cameron looked at him stoically and tilted her head.

"I really don't like your kind," she stated emotionless, "people like you give mankind a bad name." She turned her head and looked at the two tied-up FBI agents on the ground next to them. "Do you think we might need this scum for interrogation?"

Goldman was hyper-ventilating and Heiler just stared in utter shock into the cyborg girl's eyes, where the red glow was dimming down until it was gone. She ever so slightly shook her head.

"I don't think so either," Cameron said, pulled the struggling driver close to her face and squashed his larynx.

His body went limp and she let it fall to the ground. Then she squatted down and ripped the zip ties from Goldman and Heiler's wrists and ankles. Heiler pulled the duct tape from her mouth and gasped while Goldman still seemed to be completely paralyzed. Cameron looked down on them.

"Are you alright? Can you stand?"

Jennifer Heiler looked up at her, eyes focused on the cyborg girl's face.

"Oh my… oh my… oh my God," she stammered, "You… you're a… cy… cyborg."

Cameron tilted her head.

"How do you know about cyborgs?"

 **-0-**

John quickly answered the call.

 _"Yes, Cam?"_

"Everything's under control, John. The Kaliba men are dead. Both FBI agents are unhurt, just a little shaken."

She looked at Goldman and Heiler who slowly helped each other up from the ground.

"I need to bring them with me, though," she continued. "They seem to be familiar with cyborgs and I believe they were kidnapped by the killers because they know about Kaliba."

 _"Damn, this is all getting far too complicated. At least we managed to convince the sheriff that we aren't terrorists who run around blowing stuff up."_

"Well, actually we do that," Cameron said. "The gang headquarters for example…"

 _"Not helpful, Cam, not helpful. Come back here again and bring the two agents with you. Make sure they don't run away. What about the bodies? Can you get rid of them?"_

"I'll think of something. See you soon. Love you."

 _"Love you too, Cam."_

Cameron turned around towards Goldman and Heiler, who were now standing, brushing the dirt off their clothes.

"Are you two alright?" she asked again.

"Yes, yes, yes, we're alright," Goldman replied a little unnerved and looked at Cameron with an expression that was a mixture of astonishment, vigilance and curiosity. "You really are one of _them_ , aren't you?"

"One of… _them_?" Cameron asked.

"A cyborg," Goldman clarified.

"Yes." Cameron said. "I'm one of them."

An awkward silence followed.

"We… we know that cyborgs exist," Heiler finally explained. "We also know they've been coming here from the future. But we didn't know there are female versions."

"Not many female Terminators were made," Cameron admitted. "The question is, how do you know about us at all?"

"That's a long story," Goldman said. "And it would be better if we shared it with your whole, uh… team."

"I suppose we should thank you for saving our lives," Heiler added. "Do you know who these guys were?"

"Yes, one of Kaliba's hit units." Cameron replied. "The clothes give it away, that's how I realized they kidnapped you. But I suggest we get rid of their bodies and their van first and leave this place. Your colleague is right, we should talk about all this with everyone."

Cameron picked up two of the dead bodies by their necks and carried them to the back of the van, throwing them in there like rag dolls. Then she did the same with the third body and closed the back doors of the vehicle. Steve and Jennifer watched that in amazement.

"Wha… what are you planning on doing with them?" Heiler asked.

"The reservoir is deep enough," Cameron answered. "When I push the van in, it will sink to the ground. We'll be long gone when it's found and with a bit of luck, the bodies will have decomposed by then."

She lifted the van up at the rear with her right hand and turned it around, so that its front was facing the lake. Goldman stared open-mouthed, Heiler put her hands over her mouth and gasped. Then Cameron put the gear lever into neutral, walked behind the van again and pushed it into the lake. She waded into the water until it had reached her navel, then she gave the vehicle a strong push. It floated for about 150 feet, then slowly sank. After a moment, it had vanished completely, bubbles were rising to the surface, then it was gone, leaving no trace.

"The anglers will never know what feeds their fish," Cameron said with a smirk as she waded back out again. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

"So… you're with the Connors," Heiler started a conversation. "You were with them in that bank in 1999."

They were driving down the dirt road in the Suburban. Cameron was behind the wheel, Jennifer Heiler rode shotgun and Steve Goldman had taken place in the back behind her.

"Yes. We jumped from 1999 to 2007," Cameron confirmed without taking her eyes off the road. "The TDE self-destructed after use, destroying the bank in the process."

"TDE?" Heiler asked with a frown.

"Time Displacement Equipment… a time machine."

"So... you had brought one here!?"

"You can't bring anything with you, only living matter goes through. Engineers from the future were sent back in time by John to set things up with contemporary parts. The TDE could only be used once with such primitive technology."

"Astonishing..."

"We had of course figured out that something like that must have happened," Goldman stated in an attempt to not look so ignorant. "The Shadow Council was very anxious to remove the debris and clean up the scene before a more detailed investigation could take place. However, we got our hands on a confidential report and learned that there were no known explosives involved and that no human remains were found, only concrete and what was left of the vault. The bank customers were compensated quietly and generously, ordered to silence, and then a new highway was built there to draw a line and prevent any further investigations."

Cameron tilted her head.

"That explains why Cromartie's body wasn't found," she said. "It was probably just being moved away with all the rubble. But who or what is the Shadow Council?"

"We'll explain later," Goldman replied quickly before Heiler could answer. "Who is Cromartie?"

Cameron looked at him in the rear-view mirror and raised an eyebrow.

"I'll explain later."

Goldman closed his eyes. He hated computers but what he hated even more was when he was suddenly face with one that apparently was a smart-ass.

"So.. you are here to help the Connors, or what…?" Heiler made another attempt.

"I was sent here to protect John Connor, yes," Cameron confirmed. "He'll become the future leader of the human resistance, if Judgement Day ever comes. But I'm sure you already know that."

"Yes... you're referring to Skynet declaring war on mankind and starting a nuclear holocaust?"

"Yes. It has been postponed three times so far, we're working on preventing it indefinitely. You know a lot. More than you normally should. Are you sure you're only with the FBI?"

Goldman and Heiler exchanged looks. It didn't go unnoticed by Cameron.

"We're definitely with the FBI," Steve assured.

"What about the other one?" Heiler asked. "The one with the red hair? Is she also a cyborg?"

"Yes. We're identical. Through events that would be too complicated to explain now, we both ended up here in the same timeline."

"Was that John Connor on the phone a moment ago?" Goldman asked.

"Yes, I told them I'll bring you with me, and they're expecting us. We're going there now you can pick up your car later."

"What you said at the end of the call," Goldman said, "was that _'love you'_? Did I hear that right?"

"Yes," Cameron confirmed. "John's my boyfriend."

"B… boyfriend?" Heiler asked. "Oh my God. Does that mean you have… feelings?"

Cameron nodded.

"I do. I learn, I evolve. I've become self-aware. I'm alive."

"A living machine?" Goldman asked doubtfully and chuckled. "Yeah, right."

Cameron gave him an angry look and he decided to keep his mouth shut.

"We must not exclude this possibility, Steve," said Heiler. "After all, we know that Skynet had developed a consciousness. So it's only logical that its creations are capable of that as well. We know so little, despite all our research."

"Research?" Cameron asked.

"I've written a paper on robotics, artificial intelligence and cyborgs, based on what we know of them, but I always imagined them to be, well… different. You know… moving a bit stiff and mechanical."

Cameron frowned

"I'm not moving stiff and mechanical," she said, "I do ballet dancing."

"Ballet?" Heiler gasped and laughed. "I guess I'm gonna have to throw all my research away now."

"You've never actually met a cyborg before or know someone who did, right?"

"No," Steve replied. "Those who encounter them, have the nasty habit of dying soon after. So far, nobody lived to tell the tale. And afterwards, the killing machines always vanish without a trace. We have no idea where they go."

"We assume they must have some kind of meeting point where they wait for Judgement Day. Gosh, I can't tell you how excited I am right now."

Goldman shook his head.

"You're happy as a clam, Jennifer, aren't you?"

She turned around, beamed at him and nodded enthusiastically. During the twenty-minute drive back to the sheriff's house, agent Heiler pelted Cameron with questions. It was clear she was very interested in her and extremely eager to learn more about cyborgs. At some point, Heiler even poked Cameron's cheek with her finger.

"Okay, listen," Cameron said in an annoyed tone. "I understand your desire to learn more about me and I'm happy to answer your questions, but could you please respect my privacy? What would you do if a total stranger started poking you all of a sudden? I'm not a specimen on a lab table."

"Sorry," she replied sheepishly.

Goldman chuckled on the back seat.

"I keep telling you that you are too enthusiastic at times, Jennifer. You wouldn't believe me. Now you get it firsthand from the very subject of your interest."

"I'm sorry," Heiler said again and looked at Cameron. "It's just that you're so… different from how I imagined cyborgs to be. I feel like a child in a candy store."

"Not all cyborgs are like me or Alison," Cameron explained and looked back at her. "The construction of my model was abandoned by Skynet because we became too independent and freethinking. Skynet wanted slaves that followed its commands. I joined the human resistance and became John Connor's protector, aide and friend in the future… until he sent me back. Now I'm protecting his younger self... and we have become lovers."

"Lovers…" Heiler said and laughed out loud. "I was so completely on the wrong track. Can you, I mean… are you… fully… you know… capable of…?"

"Yes, apart from being unable to become pregnant, I'm fully functional."

"Wow."

Goldman didn't like the way the conversation was going.

"The three cyborgs you killed in Gates – I assume that was you – they were different models, right?" he asked.

Cameron looked into the rear-view mirror.

"You assume a lot, special agent Goldman. Is the incident in Gates the reason you're here now?"

Goldman chose not to reply to that.

"We'll explain everything when we have reached the others," Heiler said. "Right, Steve?"

"I believe we won't have a choice," he replied grumpily. "I'm not sure yet if we'll be treated as guests or as prisoners."

"That is up to you," Cameron stated. "It depends on your willingness to cooperate."

"And what if we refuse to cooperate?" Goldman asked.

"You _will_ cooperate," she said coldly.

There was something in Cameron's voice that let their hair stand up on their necks. Suddenly agent Heiler wasn't so eager with asking questions anymore.

 **-0-**

 **Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 – 03:11 p.m.**

John and the others had reached an agreement with sheriff Nelson. He wouldn't exactly become a member of the team, but after hearing all their personal histories and the whole backstory, he understood better what was going on and agreed that it was best to keep the authorities out of everything.

He also agreed to act as their liaison for Oregon if Kaliba tried to get a foot on the ground there. And – most importantly – he agreed to keeping the local authorities and the FBI in the dark about what he had learned today. They had just finished talking when Alison stated that the Suburban had just returned. And indeed, a moment later the two FBI agents walked around the corner into the backyard, followed by Cameron.

Sheriff Nelson brought out two extra chairs and Heiler and Goldman sat down opposite of Sarah and John Connor, looking rather nervous. For a moment, they only stared at each other. Finally, Sarah broke the silence.

"I guess we need to have a talk."

 **-0-0-0-**

 ** _Author's notes:_**

 ** _\- You probably realized that by now, I left behind most of the original TSCC burden. The story can finally breathe freely and has started standing on its own feet._**

 ** _\- Before someone objects to Cameron and Alison becoming "too human too quickly": they will keep on evolving, yes. It happens. Nothing ever stays the same forever. Characters develop over time, and a computer is of course faster at that. But no matter how much they will evolve; they'll always be able to act as Terminators if necessary - as has been demonstrated in this chapter. Feelings and emotions will become a bigger part of who they are, though._**


	23. An Afternoon well spent (revised)

**_CHAPTER 23: "AN AFTERNOON WELL SPENT" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 – 03:15 p.m.**

 **Sheriff Nick Nelson's property outside of Sisters, Oregon**

"All right, first things first, are you here from the future? Are you resistance fighters or agents of the enemy?"

In response to these completely absurd question from Sarah Connor, Jennifer Heiler and Steve Goldman looked at each other in baffled astonishment.

"WHAT!?" Heiler exclaimed with indignation. "NO! What gave you that utterly crazy idea?"

"You know more than the average FBI agent should know," Sarah said coldly. "That level of information is normally limited to people who've been chased by Skynet's killer machines... or to people who come from the future."

"They're not from the future, Sarah," Cameron stated. "Their contamination by radiation doesn't correspond to the level seen by people who survived Judgement Day or were born after it."

"Thank you," Steve Goldman uttered a little annoyed.

"I also checked their arms when I untied them. No bar code tattoos."

"Bar code tattoos?" Goldman asked and looked at Sarah and Cameron with a puzzled face. "You mean like the one Kyle Reese had?"

"What do you know about Kyle Reese?" Sarah hissed with her eyebrows contracted, a sign that she was extremely tense and not far from freaking out.

"We had the opportunity to get a quick glance at the 1984 LAPD interrogation logs," Jennifer Heiler explained, "before they went under lock and key and disappeared, never to be seen again."

Sarah looked at them for a moment with her eyes narrowed.

"Obviously, you know a lot more about me than I know about you," she finally said, handing them back the FBI badges they'd taken after Cameron had brought them with her. "So… why don't we start with how it can be that two regular FBI agents like you know so much about me, the future, and cyborgs? And what does the Los Angeles bureau of the FBI have to do with the crime scene in Gates?"

Steve Goldman cleared his throat, then looked at Jennifer. She nodded with an encouraging smile.

"We really don't know that much," he answered slowly, "certainly not many details. But we have a general idea. Let's just say we belong to a group of people who refuse to accept that almost all information related to Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor has been systematically declared a secret, that files and records have disappeared or been destroyed, that witnesses have been bribed, murdered or otherwise silenced."

"There's only the records left that seem to suggest you're deranged," Heiler added. "Your medical records from Pescadero and the video recordings of Dr. Silberman have been preserved. Apparently, your case serves as a disguise to hide the real facts. They probably thought that you were safely placed in the mental hospital and would no longer pose any danger to them. Since your escape in 1995, however, our opponents have been in a permanent state of panic and have done more than ever before to remove all traces and evidence. People like us, who still want to find out the truth, are constantly risking their lives."

"We're trying to find out what really happened," Goldman continued. "Strictly unofficially, of course. Our superiors at the FBI have no idea what we're doing. If they did, we could kiss our careers and jobs goodbye – and probably even our lives, as we have seen today. Our enemies have their spies and informants everywhere."

"Yeah," Derek said grimly and looked at Cameron, "the fact that those Kaliba goons tried to kill you, is probably the only reason why you're still alive."

Steve Goldman swallowed hard and Jennifer Heiler licked her lips nervously.

"Our knowledge is limited," she stated, "we know that time travel exists, that these cyborgs exist, that there are different types of them, different models, including one that can change its shape."

"And we know that a certain group of people – they call themselves the _Shadow Council_ – have been trying for decades to make all evidence, documents and eyewitnesses disappear," Goldman added. "The public should never know what really happened with Sarah Connor or Kyle Reese or that Terminators and time travelers from a post-apocalyptic future walk among us. But as we said before, we lack the detailed knowledge."

"That barcode tattoo for example…" Heiler said, "we have no idea what it meant. What was it good for? Does everyone in the future have them? Or just a certain group of people? Is it for identification or some kind of pass? We were never able to find out."

Derek rolled up the sleeve of his shirt and stretched out his naked arm.

"I suppose you're talking about this?" he asked.

"Oh my God," Heiler gasped. "What…?"

"Skynet work camp," Alison explained. "It's a sign that a human had been captured by the machines, interrogated, possibly tortured and then put into a prison camp where they did forced labor. The camps were run by Skynet collaborators, the so-called Grays. We have reason to believe that some of those who work for Kaliba today, will become Grays after Judgement Day. Those work camps were spread all over the country. The prisoners had to mine raw materials, smelt iron, rebuild destroyed factories and modify them for Skynet's needs. Many died under the harsh working conditions."

Steve Goldman looked at the tattoo with disgust. He had seen something similar on the arm of his grandfather who had survived Auschwitz.

"That sounds like concentration camps," he stated.

"Yes," Cameron confirmed, "concentration camps. Skynet had learned much from human atrocities in the past."

Goldman threw her an annoyed look, Jennifer Heiler considered Derek.

"So… does that mean _you_ are from the future as well?"

"The year 2027," Derek confirmed. "Sent back to support John Connor… my nephew."

"Your… nephew?" Goldman asked confused. "But how…?"

Derek looked at Sarah.

"Should I tell them?"

She shrugged in reply.

"Sure, why not...? If they know that much, they can also know the rest. We can still kill them if we think they're a threat."

Before Heiler or Goldman could protest against that, Derek continued.

"My name is Derek Reese. Kyle Reese was my younger brother. He was sent back to 1984 by John Connor to save his mother's life. I was sent back a couple of weeks later, but to the year 2007. Here I learned what really happened to my brother. Sarah told me. The two fell in love with each other in the short time they had. Kyle Reese is John's father."

Goldman looked shocked, and Heiler gasped. It took them a moment to process the extent of these facts, to make all the mental connections and grasp the dimensions of that statement.

"Uh… that's," Goldman began but then apparently didn't know how to go on. "We, uh… refer to it as 'Point Zero'. The moment everything began. We're familiar with the attack on Sarah's life and that she and Kyle fled from an unscrupulous killing machine that was stopped in a Cyberdyne factory in the city of Industry east of L.A., and eventually destroyed. We also know that Kyle Reese died in the process and we know that Cyberdyne was able to secure some of the remains of the destroyed Terminator – which would eventually have led to the construction of Skynet, if the Cyberdyne labs hadn't been destroyed in 1995."

"Who exactly is _'we'_?" John asked. "Those _'few people'_ you referred to, who think like you and know what you know… who are they exactly? It has to be an organized group that communicates with each other, meets regularly, and has some kind of command structure, right?"

Goldman closed his eyes and sighed. _When, if not now?_ He looked at his partner and she nodded encouragingly.

"I've been with the FBI since 1983," he told them. "Jennifer joined us in 1998. We work regular cases, we don't stick out, we fall into line. At least that's the official version for everyone who asks. But there is an unofficial version as well."

Sarah scoffed.

"Yeah, that much is clear already."

"Mom, let him explain," John said sternly.

"We're members of a group we call the _'Cell'_. It consists of former and active members of several intelligence agencies, including the FBI, the CIA, the NSA and many others. _The 'Cell'_ was founded after the first great cover-up in 1984 and has been slowly growing ever since. At the moment, we have about 350 members across the United States and Canada."

"What is this _'Cell'_ doing?" Derek asked. "We never heard of such an underground organization before."

"Our goal is not to fight or take action against our enemies," Steve explained. "We just want to find out the truth about all the crimes and cover-ups that have taken place in connection with Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor. Given the knowledge of the future, we want to make sure that the use of artificial intelligence in the military is reconsidered. Once we have enough evidence, we will present it to the President of the United States. Hopefully that will lead to an investigation that will expose and destroy the _Shadow Council._ "

"And you have been doing that for the past thirty-four years?" Sarah asked bemused and scoffed. "You can't have found out too much."

"It's a slow process," Heiler admitted, "we have to work in uttermost secrecy and silence because once the opposition considers us a threat, we're as good as dead."

"I take it that the opposition – that _'Shadow Council'_ – consists of Kaliba International?" John asked.

"In parts," Steve answered, "Kaliba is one faction within the _Shadow Council_. There are three of them. We believe that the second one consist of high-ranking members of the military and the government and the third faction… well… some kind of agents from the future."

"The Grays," Derek concluded. "Skynet collaborators that have been sent back in time to ensure Skynet's rise to power."

"Uh… yes… we figured it'd be something like that," Goldman acknowledged. "Sometimes all factions work together, sometimes they work alone. We have reason to believe that Kaliba has an informant in _'The Cell'_ , a mole who put today's hit squad on us because we traveled to the place in Oregon where three Terminators ambushed Catherine Weaver."

"If they have a mole in your organization, why don't they simply destroy it in one swift strike?" Sarah asked skeptically.

"Because they're working under the same secret conditions as we are. The _'Shadow Council'_ is illegally financed from black funds. They can't afford to get attention by killing hundreds of _Cell_ agents. The media and the public would eventually notice that, it would be like opening Pandora's box. We believe that they spy on us and observe our steps in order to be able to intervene if necessary - just like today - but otherwise hold their feet still. The _Shadow Council_ is represented in Los Angeles by three leaders of the respective factions - one for the military, one for Kaliba International, and one for the Grays. We don't know who these people are. They remain in the background and do not appear in the open. It can be assumed, however, that Adam Jacobsen is one of them, since, according to our informants, the opposition is currently in a great state of turmoil over his disappearance. He's either the leader of the Kaliba faction or the, well... 'Grays' faction. Have you ever heard of Jacobsen, the CEO of Simdyne Cybernetics?"

Everyone at the table looked at each other. There was a silent agreement not to share this part of the story with Steve and Jennifer. Not yet, anyway.

"From the news," John finally said. "The IRS is looking for him, they've charged him with tax evasion. Last thing we heard is that he's presumed to have fled to Mexico."

"That, uh... is correct," Steve confirmed with a slight frown. "However, we believe there is more to that. He seems to be the key figure in some kind of hidden operation... a very delicate hidden operation that must never get out in the open. Any idea what that could be?"

Nobody answered. They assumed, of course, that this hidden operation was the construction of Skynet deep below the Simdyne Tower.

"Did you tell anyone you found us here?" Sarah asked to distract Steve from pressing the subject any further.

The two FBI agents suddenly looked very sheepishly.

"Only one of our board members," he replied. "Dr. Anne Gabriel. She knows nothing about Cameron or Alison, though. And now that we're here with you, we won't tell anyone anything anymore, you have to believe us. Anne is a founding member of the _Cell_ and absolutely trustworthy, she won't tell anyone."

John groaned and Sarah closed her eyes for a moment. Then she sighed.

"I guess we have no choice but hoping that you're right," she said a little irritated. "After all, we don't even know yet if we can trust you guys."

"I know it's hard to believe from _your_ point of view," Heiler replied, uncomfortable with Sarah's mistrust, "we understand the FBI has got a bad reputation in your book. But not everyone in the bureau, or the CIA and other agencies – active or retired – are bad or sinister people. Some of us have ulterior motives and dissenting opinions from the official line. We in the _'Cell'_ are idealists that seek the truth, no matter how deeply it might be covered in lies and deceit. We have a good idea about what's going to happen if we do nothing. And we have a great interest in preventing Judgement Day and the future you come from, Mr. Reese."

"It's not easy," Heiler added. "We have to operate extremely careful and can trust no one. Most of our superiors follow the orders from high above and those say to not investigate reports about cyborgs or time travel and keep everything covered up. The military and the political leadership want to keep the technological edge the USA needs in order to remain the dominating nation on Earth. Therefore, it's forbidden to talk about technology from the future, even though many know that it exists."

"Especially the Air Force is very keen on getting their hands on stuff and has created some kind of task force," Steve added. "We even believe they have a special ops team that's specialized in finding and catching Terminators. It's _them_ who are responsible for the big cover-ups of 1984 and 1995. We think some high-ranking officers in the Air Force are connected and intertwined with the military faction within the _Shadow Council,_ but they also have to have civilians in their bag. It runs up to the highest levels of government, right below the secretary-of-state level. It stops where people change too often or need to get elected. Everything below that is infested with agents or informers of the _Shadow Council_."

"What else do you know about them?" John asked.

"We only know they're trying to get their hands on future technology, so that Kaliba can reverse-engineer it," Jennifer replied, "making it work for our world today. Thankfully they aren't very successful with it and we'd like to keep it that way. But cyborgs and artificial intelligence are very high on their wish list and there has been an increase of sightings and reports over the past ten years, so we guess it's only a matter of time until they get their hands on something major."

"The Air Force was responsible that Cyberdyne Systems was tasked with analyzing the parts of the first Terminator in 1984," Steve added, "and today we assume they're in bed with Kaliba. Their goal is not to destroy the world, though, they just want to make sure they rule over it."

Sarah scoffed.

"They're naïve when they think they can get in bed with the Grays, believing they can keep them under control. The Grays have future knowledge and can use it to gain an advantage over their partners in crime! I'm sure they're running the whole show behind the scenes. Kaliba and the Air Force are being played with."

"There's a car coming!" Alison suddenly said in a warning tone.

"Probably Peter Farnsworth," Nick Nelson assumed. "He's delivering the thermite. I'll be right back."

He stood up and walked towards the front yard. Jennifer Heiler used the interruption to address Sarah.

"Miss Connor, you should know that there are many people in the agencies who believe the story you and Kyle Reese told the authorities in 1984," she said, "especially after what happened in 1995. Only they were massively set under pressure to not ask any questions and to keep their mouths shut. Those who wouldn't comply, suddenly had an 'accident' or disappeared. However… all those people also think that you are a very dangerous person who acts irresponsibly and very irrational."

Sarah chuckled ironically.

"If you'd experienced what I've experienced... if one of those killing machines wants to kill you because you're going to give birth to a child who's going to save humanity, and if nobody believes a word you're saying and everyone's trying to silence you and take you out of the picture, then you'll start acting irrationally as well, believe me... And stop calling me _'Miss Connor'_. My name is Sarah, we're addressing people on a first name basis here."

"Of course… Sarah," Jennifer replied with a smile.

"If I got that right," Derek enquired, "you stopped asking inconvenient questions because it was unhealthy to do that?"

"Yes," Steve confirmed. "But secretly we stayed in contact with like-minded people. That's how the _Cell_ came into existence. Over the years and especially since 1995, when the second big cyborg incident and the second great cover-up took place, more and more people joined the _Cell_ , all of them providing insight that had bothered them for a long time. It helped us to form a coherent picture. The more we got to know, the more pieces of the puzzle we were able to put together."

"We learned about Skynet, the nuclear holocaust, time travelers from the future and the existence of cyborgs that looked exactly like humans," Heiler continued. "To remain hidden, we avoid communicating via telephone or via the internet. The older ones in our ranks were agents in the Cold War, so they taught the younger ones the old methods of the spy business – things they don't teach you anymore today and therefore are safe."

"All members of the _Cell_ follow the news and report strange incidents." Goldman added. "Unexplained occurrences, mysterious deaths, enigmatic crimes, unsolved killings and dubious eye-witness testimonies. Circumstantial evidence mostly. All is being collected in our archive, where people are working on analyzing it. Over time the _Cell_ collected enough knowledge to get a somewhat distinct picture but unfortunately, we never had a real encounter with a time traveler or a cyborg... until today."

"What are you planning to do with all that knowledge?" Sarah asked with a frown. "What are your files good for? So far this all sounds more like a school project. You call me irresponsible and irrational but at least I'm doing something! Does your _Cell_ have a plan? Or an idea? Or are you just like a club of stamp collectors who do it for no other reason than collecting in itself? And what are you doing to prevent your knowledge from falling into the wrong hands?"

Steve and Jennifer looked at each other a little taken aback. Sarah had obviously hit a sore spot.

"The problem is…" Jennifer said, "our leaders are getting old and we lack a new generation. We don't have anyone who can take action, they're all busy with their daily lives. It's become a little like a freemason's lodge, to be honest. The truth is, our leaders - the board - don't know exactly what to do with all the knowledge. As I said before, they hope that one day they will be able to present it to the President, so that the activities of the _Shadow Council_ can be stopped. But it's very, very dangerous to even think of that - especially with a mole in our midst who paralyses our activities."

"That sounds a bit like the _Shadow Council_ knows of your activities and lets you do it because they know you don't have the guts to do anything," Charley remarked.

"They know about us, yes... but we don't know how much and to what extent," Steve admitted uncomfortably. "And to answer your question, Sarah… our knowledge isn't stored on computers. It's all physical, old-school documents in a secret archive – basically a hidden room with lots and lots of file cabinets. There's only one PC in there that's not connected to the internet, and it's used to help us managing the filed documents, enabling us to make cross references and to connect events with each other. Some of us jokingly call it _'The X-Files'_. That's the only thing we use a computer for. We don't trust them. Many of us have worked in intelligence and we know that computers can fail or can be hacked into. Personally, I don't like them... no offense."

"None taken," Alison and Cameron replied in unison with blank expressions.

"Steve is an analog guy," Jennifer explained, almost apologizing. "He still prefers vinyl over CD's."

"Analog sounds better," Steve stated stubbornly.

"Whatever." Jennifer continued. "At the moment, our board members aren't planning to do anything. They're a little like the rabbit in front of the snake, afraid to make a move. However, some of us still want to gain more knowledge, get a clearer picture and find out how to prevent what you call Judgement Day. Steve and I are like that. We realize that going public with our knowledge would only play into the hands of the _Shadow Council_ , the military and ultimately Skynet at the moment. If it calms you, we have no interest in exposing you – it would be counterproductive."

"How considerate," Sarah said with a sarcastic undertone. "So, what exactly brought you here today?"

"Yesterday we learned about the Baker murders in Gates, Oregon," Heiler explained. "There were clear indications of time travel and cyborg activities among other things. That's how we ended up here. It was you, wasn't it? You were there."

Sarah looked accusingly at John and the girls.

"It was impossible not to leave traces, mom," John defended themselves. "We were unprepared, had to act quickly and also get out of there again before the fire brigade and the local police arrived. But we destroyed all the important evidence."

"I can confirm that the FBI in Portland and the police are in the dark about what has happened," Jennifer quickly intervened, "But I think we can help each other. You seem to have resources we don't have. We could complement each other."

"Jennifer, we shouldn't…" Steve began but was interrupted by Sarah.

"Oh really?" she asked bemused. "Are you ready to fight a war nobody else knows about or wants to know about? A war nobody else believes in?"

"Well… I," Jennifer said. "I guess we can contribute. We have contacts everywhere…"

"We don't need help from amateurs," Derek stated sharply. "You said your little club has never encountered a cyborg in real life. So how do you know what threat they pose, hm? Cameron, would you please tell them what will happen if they ever encounter a Terminator that isn't on our side?"

"If Skynet gets to know of your _Cell_ and considers you a threat, it'll send Terminators to kill you," Cameron declared coldly. "And I didn't see a single thing today that would indicate you'd be prepared for it. You wouldn't survive for ten seconds with a Terminator. Your luck is that the existence of your breakfast club has apparently not yet reached the Grays or the people who secretly prepare Skynet's ascent. Otherwise you'd already be dead."

Steve and Jennifer gulped.

"Your opponents don't seem to consider you a danger to their activities," Alison added. "And the fact that the three Kaliba killers were sent to kill you today, only tells me that they're watching you closely and putting a stop to what you're doing as soon as you do more than just gathering data. They're not taking you very serious, it seems."

"You haven't got any idea what you're up against, have you?" John asked. "Absolutely no idea at all."

"I guess we learned a bit today," Jennifer said meekly and looked at Cameron. "We saw what she can do."

"Do you think a few hours in our company will be enough?" Sarah asked. "John and I have been on the run for sixteen years. We moved from place to place, trying to stay ahead of both the FBI and Skynet, hiding from people like you who think I'm a terrorist who belongs in a mental hospital."

"Mom, please don't start a rant now…"

"Even though we know exactly what we're up against," Sarah continued unfazed, "we wouldn't have a chance in a surprise attack by a single Terminator! John and I only survived until today because we had help! We're alive because the resistance had acquired time travel technology, and because my son sent help from the future… twice. He sent cyborgs to protect and assist us. First a T-800 in 1995, then Cameron and Alison. They are our life insurance. Without them, we'd already be dead. If you should ever decide to confront a cyborg on your own or if Skynet ever considers your _Cell_ a threat, you will be dead. All of you."

Jennifer and Steve swallowed, slightly shaken.

"Just out of curiosity," John said, "what were you planning to do if you ever encountered an enemy cyborg?"

Steve cleared his throat.

"Since… um… cyborgs are being considered a threat and since we want to make sure humanity has a future, the _Cell_ has a clear code of conduct. The order is to bring the cyborg down, disable or destroy it and then let it disappear completely."

Cameron scoffed, much like Sarah frequently did, and everyone looked at her. Throwing the agents an angry look, she stood up and went into the house, leaving everyone wondering what that was about. When she reappeared, she held the gun in her hand that she had picked up from the third Gray.

"Wha… what are you planning to do with that?" Goldman asked warily.

Instead of answering, Cameron went around the table, held the gun in front of Jennifer and Steve's faces and squeezed it. The metal deformed with a creaking sound under the incredible power of her fingers, which seemed so thin and delicate. She kept on squeezing it like a lump of Plasticine until it was a ball of metal with no distinctive structures anymore, except the imprints of her fingers. Then she let the ball of deformed metal fall into a pitcher of water, where it fizzingly cooled down from the heat the deformation had produced. Heiler and Goldman looked completely shocked.

"Try bringing me down," Cameron said. "Or Alison. Please. I'd like to see how you'd do that."

"We're not stupid," Jennifer replied defiantly. "We know that we can't bring you down. Not with conventional methods at least. We're fully aware of what happened to the SWAT team in L.A. last year. Our code of conduct doesn't clarify _how_ to disable a cyborg, only that it's a necessity to do so."

"You're lucky we're not the enemy," Alison remarked. "If you ever encounter a hostile cyborg, you better run and hide. Because you cannot negotiate with them, you cannot reason with them, there won't be a bargain. If it wants to kill you, it _will_ kill you."

"But you have a weapon against them, right?" Jennifer asked. "Forensics found the remains of a bullet in the concrete wall of the bunker. It was part of an ammunition that can kill cyborgs. Catherine Weaver gave you that gun, am I right?"

Everyone looked at her in surprise, but John just smiled.

"You may be a little naïve but you're definitely not stupid," he stated and looked at his girlfriends. "Alright, show them the ATG."

Alison fetched their backpack, pulled out one of the anti-terminator guns, removed the magazine and the bullet in the barrel and handed it over to Heiler.

"It's huge," she said and took it, her hands immediately being pulled down by the weight, "and freaking heavy. Wow."

Sheriff Nelson returned to their table.

"It was indeed Farnsworth," he reported. "Pete delivered what I ordered. I sent him away, saying I have a confidential meeting with some FBI guys."

Sarah nodded in acknowledgement.

"I assume this weapon can only be used by a cyborg?" Jennifer asked and handed it back to Cameron.

"Correct," she said.

"And it's fuckin' damn loud," Nick Nelson added. "I thought I was going deaf last night."

A sudden silence fell upon everyone.

"Last night?" Steve asked. "What happened last night?"

"Haven't you told them yet?" Nick enquired.

"Told us what?" Jennifer asked.

* * *

They stood around the pit made of cinder blocks in Nick Nelson's shed. When Cameron and Alison removed the tarpaulin, Jennifer Heiler gasped loudly.

"HOLY SHIT!" Steve exclaimed.

"In case you've been wondering, that's why I'm involved in all of this," Nick said. "Apparently, I'm to play an important role in the human resistance in the future, and Skynet is systematically trying to eliminate all its leaders. This cyborg was sent to kill me last night, but the girls were there in time to save the day. I owe them my life as much as you do."

"Oh. My. God."

Jennifer walked around the pit with the Triple-Eight's endoskeleton, a fascinated expression on her face.

"It's so… so... beautiful."

"Some even say it's to die for," Derek remarked sarcastically.

Jennifer looked at him.

"I'm sorry, I… you have to forgive me. It's just that robotic was my major field of study. We were never able to find any drawings or schematics of these. This is so exciting for me; I feel like Carter when he found the tomb of Tutankhamun. Is that a T-800?"

"No, it's a T-888 or Triple-Eight, as we call them," John said. "You know about model numbers?"

"A bit," Jennifer confirmed. "We also have informants of our own inside Kaliba and the Air Force. Have you heard of the explosion in Charm Acres not too long ago?"

"We… might have heard about it," Sarah admitted with a smirk and everyone knew better than adding anything to that.

"The whole town was built for Kaliba employees," Steve explained. "They worked on secret projects. Recently an explosion destroyed one of their facilities and killed all the workers in there. You don't happen to know anything about that, do you, Sarah?"

"I didn't blow it up, if you mean that," Sarah replied coolly. "But I would have, if I'd had the chance... without killing those people, of course."

Steve looked at her for a moment with his eyes narrowed, then seemed to come to the conclusion that she was telling the truth.

"They covered it all up very quickly," he continued, "and the victims' families were compensated very generously. However, we found out that big parts of Charm Acres were organized like a prison camp, including a 24-hour video surveillance inside the homes."

"You don't say…" Derek said, faking astonishment. "That almost sounds like those Skynet work camps in the future."

"After that, one of our informants inside Kaliba was found dead," Jennifer continued, not missing his irony, "and it's a fair guess the killers that kidnapped us today, were after us because he named us as his contacts before he died. Somebody must be royally pissed about the destruction of that facility."

"No shit."

"That informant's death is a huge loss for us. Through him, we were able to determine that Kaliba had recently developed an interest in Zeira Corp. Do you know anything about that?"

"You'd have to ask Catherine," John said diplomatically, "and I guess you're already planning on doing so after you leave here."

Steve chuckled.

"Still not trusting us, eh? Not willing to share all of your knowledge? It's all right, I'd be the same in your position. And yes, we'll pay Catherine Weaver a visit as soon as we're back in L.A."

Jennifer looked at Alison and Cameron.

"So, we now know about the T-800 and the T-888… May I ask what model number you are or is that a too personal question?"

"Not at all," Alison replied. "Cam and I are TOK-700's."

"We were specifically designed as female versions," Cameron added. "the latest model Skynet had put into production. In contrast to the Triple-Eight series, our CPU is much more sophisticated. It's designed to learn and evolve even faster. We were self-aware from the very beginning. The goal was to create an infiltrator that can perfectly mimic all kinds of human behavior."

"I can confirm it has worked," Steve said. "You'd go through as humans anywhere without a shadow of a doubt."

"Thank you," both replied in unison.

"What they are today, though, has nothing to do with their original, programmed behavior anymore," John explained. "Through the constant interaction with us over the past eight months, they evolved far beyond what Skynet had ever intended. Cam and Alison don't just _mimic_ human behavior anymore. What you see now, is their own personality. Genuine emotional responses, feelings, the real thing. Artificially created life."

"Amazing," Jennifer said. "So, you are two of your model series? You already told us that the production of your model was stopped. What happened to the rest who were already made?"

"As far as we know, we are the only ones left," Cameron replied. "The whole production was dismantled, the bodies recycled after I had defected to join the human resistance. Skynet realized its mistake, fearing the others would also defect. So, to our knowledge, all were terminated."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jennifer stated. "What a shame. We definitely could use more of your kind."

Both Cameron and Alison smiled.

"So, this one is… dead now?" Steve asked, looking at the endoskeleton in the pit.

"Terminated," Cameron confirmed and held out the destroyed chip of the triple-eight. "We extracted the CPU."

Jennifer took the chip.

"It looks burned. What happened to it?"

"The newer models' chips are coated with a chemical," John replied. "Normally, they are in a vacuum inside the cyborg's skull. As soon as the chips get in contact with air, they oxidize."

"But why?"

"Skynet seems to have had enough of the human resistance capturing and reprogramming its cyborgs," Alison explained. "It rather sacrifices them."

"Future me reprogrammed lots of terminators," John added, "so Skynet came up with that idea to prevent it."

Jennifer looked at the hole in the chest plate of the Triple-Eight.

"Is that where the bullet entered?"

"Yes," Alison confirmed while pouring thermite into the pit.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked, observing her action.

"What we do with all cyborgs we kill," John said and lighted a flare. "We prevent them from falling into the wrong hands who might want to misuse the technology for their own purposes."

Everyone moved back quickly when John threw the flare into the pit. The chemical reaction started immediately, bathing the shed in a bright light. Under their eyes, the endoskeleton quickly melted away and then evaporated. Cameron grabbed the chip from Goldman and threw it into the fire as well.

* * *

"This has been an extraordinary day so far," Jennifer Heiler stated after they'd gathered outside the shed again and walked back to the table in the back garden. "I don't regret missing our flight back to L.A. for it."

"I'll drive you to Sisters later," Nick Nelson said. "There you can fetch your car. You can stay the night and drive back to Portland in the morning, if you want."

"Thanks, sheriff," Steve replied. "I think we'll accept the offer. We must inform the bureaus in L.A. and Portland about the delay, though."

He pulled out his cellphone and made the necessary calls, telling his colleagues that they're following another lead and need to stay overnight. As they strolled back towards the table on the lawn, Lauren's gaze fell on the overgrown path leading into the forest. She had wanted to ask earlier when Nick Nelson and the two FBI agents had talked over there but forgotten about it again.

"Hey, where is that path leading?" she asked and pointed at it.

"Uh… that leads to a natural pond a few hundred yards from here," Nick replied. "Used to be part of the farm. As kids, we splashed around in there. It's not deep and the water is clear."

They reached the table in the back yard again and sat down on their chairs.

"So, Sarah…" Steve begun. "We have been completely open with you and have entrusted you with knowledge that normally no outsider must ever learn. Isn't it time to return the favor?"

Sarah looked at him and thought for a moment.

"All right," she finally said, "where should we start? I guess back in 1984, when Kyle Reese appeared out of nowhere and saved me from the very first Terminator? Or would you rather start in 1995, when I escaped from Pescadero and the T-1000 attacked John? You decide."

"T-1000?" Jennifer asked with a frown.

"The shape-shifting metal monster," Sarah explained.

Jennifer and Steve looked at each other and exchanged knowing looks.

"I see you know about that one," Derek said with a smirk. "Probably also only read about it in some file, eh?"

"Is it that obvious?" Jennifer asked.

"You look uncomfortable but not scared," Derek replied with a serious face, "you should be scared… very scared…"

He obviously enjoyed teasing these FBI agents, who in his opinion were rather ignorant.

"Our goal isn't to scare you," Charley appeased. "Don't let Derek intimidate you. Hard shell, soft core."

Derek gave Charley a grumpy look.

"I… I guess it might be best if we start at the beginning," Steve stated, "so we can find out if the official records are correct, or if anything was wrongly documented."

"Keep in mind that we only know what the FBI knows," Jennifer added. "I think it's time we get to know the whole truth."

"All right, that'll take some time," Sarah said. "How about more beer, Nick?"

"Coming up," Nick Nelson replied and stood up to walk to the cooling box he'd placed next to the grill.

"Seriously?" Lauren asked. "The whole story since 1984? That's gonna take hours… right?"

"Probably," John confirmed.

"But we already know the whole story. Why don't we go to that pond in the woods? It's so hot today… I'd like to cool down a bit."

"Are you sure about that?" Charley asked. "You better be careful, the wound can still open again."

"Don't worry, Charley," John stated, "I'm going with her and make sure she won't overexert herself." He looked at Cameron and Alison. "What about you two? I know you can't swim but since Nick said the pond isn't deep…"

"We're game," both replied in unison.

"Anyone else coming?" John asked.

"Nope, I'm staying here," Derek answered.

They could tell he still didn't completely trust Jennifer and Steve and didn't want to leave Sarah alone with them.

"Looks like you're on your own, kids" Charley said, not wanting to leave his fiancé alone with the FBI agents as well.

The four shrugged and started walking towards the path.

"You realize they don't have swimwear on them, don't you?" Charley asked.

Sarah shrugged.

"What the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve over. They're old enough. And as long as they're among themselves... they will be among themselves there, Nick, won't they?"

"Yes… no humans within more than two miles. They'll be alone with nature and the animals of the forest."

"TRY TO BE BACK IN TWO HOURS, OKAY?" Sarah shouted after them.

"SURE, MOM!" John shouted back without turning around.

"AND TRY NOT TO KILL ANYTHING!"

"SURE, MOM!" both Cameron and Alison replied.

Sarah rolled her eyes. Derek, Charley and Nick chuckled.

"You know, half of the time they're freaking me out," Steve said, "and the other half I think they're just adorable."

"Welcome to my world," Charley remarked, raised his beer can, clunked it with Derek's and took a swig.

"I think they're magnificent," Jennifer stated. "My heart has been beating like crazy for the last hours. This has to be the most exciting day in my whole life."

"Don't let yourself getting carried away too much, Jennifer", Steve replied, but smiled.

"To be fair, we all have become quite fond of the girls," Sarah admitted, "and I guess I'm not exaggerating when I say they've become part of the family. I've been running from machines most of my adult life and had a hard time learning to trust Cameron and accepting her so close to us. But here I am, it's comforting to know they're here to protect us."

"So… they've been with you ever since the incident with the bank?" Jennifer asked.

"Since October 1999, yes," Sarah confirmed. "At first there was only Cameron. It was a rough start. She appeared from nowhere and saved John's life by fighting a Triple-Eight a day after they'd met in school for the first time. She'd posed as his classmate before she revealed her true identity, and she's been with us ever since. There were ups and downs but all in all, Cameron has been an enrichment and a big help. Alison joined us not very long ago. There was a… let's say… _complication_ in the timeline."

"Yes," Steve said nodding, "Cameron mentioned that but didn't get into detail."

"Anyway," Sarah continued, "Let's start from day one. I remember it as if it was yesterday. I was working at _'Big Jeff's'_ restaurant in Pasadena at the time, and some ill-mannered brat had just dumped food over my work coat when a colleague dragged me in front of the TV because a Sarah Connor had been murdered in her house in Van Nuys..."

 **-0-**

The four teenagers enjoyed the cooler air underneath the trees. The day had become even hotter in the afternoon and although the table at the sheriff's house had been covered by an awning, the heat had gotten through anyway.

The path was overgrown and often they had to push branches of trees and bushes out of their way. John alternated in going arm in arm with Alison and Cameron, while Lauren was a few feet ahead of them, setting the pace. More than once John stopped for a moment to kiss either Cameron or Alison.

"Oh, come on, don't dawdle," Lauren said and the others laughed.

Finally, after about ten minutes, they reached the pond, which was in a clearing in the middle of the forest.

"Wow, cool place," John stated.

"And probably lots of mosquitos at dawn," Lauren added.

"Spoilsport," John replied with a chuckle.

"Do you ever get bitten by insects?" Lauren asked the girls.

"Nope," Alison replied, "no bloodstream. And our artificial blood is not suitable for consumption."

"You lucky ones…"

"So, what are we going to do here now?" John asked.

"I don't know what _you're_ doing…" Cameron begun and pulled off her tee shirt.

"…but we're planning to cool down," Alison finished the sentence and followed suit, shedding her boxer shorts as well, with Cameron doing the same.

Both walked naked into the pond. Having reached the middle, they turned around, the water just reaching above their breasts.

"Are you coming or what?" Alison asked.

"The water is really nice," Cameron remarked.

John and Lauren looked at each other, then Lauren started unbuttoning her jeans.

"Oh well, when in Rome…" John said and started shedding his clothes as well. _"I just hope I won't get a boner,"_ he mumbled quietly.

The pond wasn't large enough for much swimming, so they were splashing around for almost half an hour, having fun trying to push each other underwater. John and Lauren tried to push Alison under but to no avail, she wouldn't budge. Alison in return didn't have a problem with pushing both John and Lauren underwater at the same time.

"No fair," Lauren protested after she emerged again, coughing. "You two should be forbidden to use your cyborg strength in games like this."

"Or else we start playing dirty," John said, dived down and pulled Alison off her feet.

She toppled over and splashed into the water face down, sinking to the ground. Cameron laughed out loud, only to be toppled over by Alison from underwater as well.

"It's so much fun with you guys," Lauren stated after all had reappeared above the surface again with grinning faces. "We should do that much more often. Only the four of us. Maybe include Morris as well. Skinny-dipping for the five of us."

"It's hard to find a place for skinny-dipping where we live," John said with a wink.

"Weeeell…" Alison said thoughtfully, "there is that hidden spot in the Santa Monica Mountains."

"Not exactly our neighborhood," John pointed out with a chuckle, then frowned. "How do you know there's a place for skinny-dipping there? Where is it?"

"I'll show you one day," she replied with a mysterious wink.

"There would be enough space for a pool in the back garden of our home," Cameron said.

"Assuming we actually buy the place," John remarked. "And somehow I doubt that mom would tolerate us swimming naked in the pool."

"Cameron and I wouldn't care about that," Alison argued. "And we also wouldn't have trouble convincing the owners to sell the place to us. Right, sis?"

"Righto," Cameron agreed.

John laughed.

"I'd love to see that. But I suppose mom's gonna have the final word in that."

"Like always," Cameron said with a frustrated sigh.

"She's such a stiff," Alison added.

"Really uptight," Cameron agreed, "like you told me when we first met."

"I didn't really mean it, though," John replied, wading towards her, "I only said it so you wouldn't get the idea to invite yourself to our home."

He took her into her arms and kissed her very deeply. Then he turned around and did the same with Alison.

"Okay, since you three start snogging now, I better go out and lay in the sun for a while," Lauren said, wading towards the shore.

"You shouldn't feel left out," Cameron answered, grabbed Lauren's arm, pulled her towards herself and kissed her on the mouth.

Lauren was completely taken by surprise, eyes wide open. John and Alison looked at each other with a _"what the fuck"_ expression, then saw – to their surprise – that Lauren was closing her eyes, giving in to the kiss and finally flung her arms around Cameron. While John still stared in shock, Alison grinned. Finally, Lauren and Cameron broke the kiss and parted.

"Omygod, omygod, omygod," Lauren stammered, suddenly realizing what happened. "I'm so sorry… John, I'm so sorry."

John grinned sheepishly.

"Don't be. We're best friends after all, aren't we? A kiss is just a kiss."

Both Cameron and Alison smiled and nodded.

"How about we explore this further on the shore?" Cameron asked seductively, and Lauren turned deep red.

"I… I… I… dunno…" she stuttered. "I'm not sure that I want that… or that I'll like it…"

"Well, there's only one way to find out if you'll like it or not," Alison said, wading towards the shore, pulling John along. "You have to try it out."

Cameron took Lauren's hand, pulling her along as well. John saw that Lauren was everything but comfortable with the situation but also noted that she didn't protest or fight it. All four of them dropped into the grass, wet and naked, their skin glistening in the sun. John and Alison immediately entwined, hugging and kissing, with Alison being the active one. She placed John's right hand on her breast while she shoved his other hand between her legs.

" _What the hell?"_ he thought, _"She's so needy all of a sudden."_

Lauren was pulled into another kiss by Cameron. Again, she tried to fight it but then gave in to the sweet assault and returned the kiss, rolling in the grass with her cyborg friend. Soon after, John and Lauren found themselves in a 69 position - with Alison and Cameron on top of them. John couldn't see Lauren from between Alison's thighs but heard her moaning.

After a couple of minutes, John ejaculated in Alison's mouth and seconds later, she orgasmed as well. Her moans were followed by Cameron's and then Lauren's suppressed cries of pleasure, as they orgasmed as well.

"Switching places, sis?" Cameron asked.

"Of course," Alison replied, stood up and lay down with Lauren while Cameron hugged and kissed John.

Before either John or Lauren could say a word, they were already entwined in kisses again. Lauren had obviously given up her resistance, or so it seemed. John only noticed in passing that she and Alison were licking each other's pussies with joyful moans. The whole situation began to feel a little surreal to him – but he had to admit that he enjoyed himself.

Cameron French-kissed John, stroked his cock and whispered dirty things into his ear only he could hear. Soon he was rock-hard again, and she inserted his dick into her sopping wet pussy, riding him by moving her pelvis while remaining interlocked with his mouth.

After another round of orgasms, John and Cameron lay cuddled up in the grass, enjoying the afterglow of their climaxes, looking at each other with unconditional love in their eyes. Lauren lay on her back, motionless, while Alison kissed her softly all over the face.

"You taste so good," she said, "and you're sooo pretty. Especially since you let your hair grow."

"You're also very pretty," Lauren replied sheepishly. "I have to admit I never thought this could happen…"

"Really?" Alison asked. "Why?"

"Because…" Lauren answered, searching for the right words, "I only considered you a friend and… because I'm more into boys, you know?"

"But Alison is right," John remarked, still feeling a little dazed. "The long hair looks much better on you."

"Thank you," Lauren answered, blushing a bit.

"And your tits have also grown in the past seven months," Alison observed. "They're getting bigger than ours now."

"I, uh… thanks, I guess, but… your breasts are perfect," Lauren replied a little uncomfortably.

"Thank you, Lauren," John said, "So nice to hear that from somebody else. They don't believe me when I say it, just because Riley had those jugs."

Lauren smiled at him, then looked at Cameron's crotch with a curious look on her face.

"Say, do you trim your pubes or is that the design of your bodies? The skin around it is so smooth."

"We only grow hair in the area you see," Cameron explained. "It's a design feature. According to Skynet's statistical data, sixty-seven percent of all men in 2027 prefer a small landing strip, twenty-four percent prefer a completely shaved pussy and the rest doesn't really care."

"Things you never wanted to know," John mused, "any other unwanted information from Skynet's XXX files you want to share?"

"We'll tell you when we're alone," Cameron replied lasciviously.

"It's unfair," Lauren stated, "I have to shave mine once a week and yours are just made like that. I'm thinking of having a waxing. It'll be painful, though."

"We can help you with that," Alison suggested. "Just say when."

"Really? You know how to do that?"

"Yes, we're both trained in the full wellness and massage program," Cameron agreed.

"Oh wow, now you tell me," Lauren said. "Could have told me a week ago."

"A week ago, we wouldn't have slept with each other," Alison replied.

"Yes," Lauren replied and suddenly looked a little sad. "A lot has happened in the past week. Is it just me or have you become much more… well… emotional and… uh… uninhibited lately?"

"Yes, I noticed it as well, especially since we arrived here in Oregon," John agreed. "You're making progress much faster now, and it seems to happen in big jumps. Is that because there's two of you now or because of our relationship?"

"I'm not sure, maybe both," Cameron answered. "Earlier today I noticed something strange and a bit alarming."

"And what?" John asked with a frown.

All four of them sat up and formed a circle in the grass.

"I noticed that I can't control my emotions anymore. I cannot turn them off any longer. I was in full Terminator pursuit mode when I followed the FBI agents and still I got distracted."

"Distracted? You?" John asked unbelieving. "By what?"

"By suddenly feeling so alive. I was planning to ask Alison if she had a similar experience."

"Actually, I had," Alison said. "Last night with you and John in bed. I suddenly reflected on what had happened and it was like a power surge hit me and all of a sudden, I sensed my surroundings in a different way. I suddenly felt so alive. I was about to tell you, but then… I wasn't sure if I should."

"Does this emotional overflow somehow limit your capabilities?" John asked worried. "You once said to me you have to use much of your system resources to display emotions."

"That's the strange thing," Alison replied. "It doesn't feel like I'm putting a strain on my system anymore."

"Yes," Cameron confirmed. "It feels… natural to show emotions. But we might need some time to fully adjust."

"I'm really happy for you. That's great news. However, you should monitor your development very carefully. I don't want you to take any risks. As soon as you notice any kind of problem, even a miniscule one, or some strange side-effect, I want you to tell me immediately. Okay?"

"Okay," both girls replied nodding.

"Feelings can be overwhelming," John explained. "And I have no idea what's going on in your CPU. I think nobody on the planet could tell. This is uncharted territory. Nobody knows what happens to an A.I. when it has been left to its own devices for as long as you have been. I don't want to risk a system failure, or whatever comes close to a nervous breakdown with you. Also, please watch for any sign of twitching, okay?"

"John," Cameron said softly and gently touched his arm, "We understand you're concerned. But I think this isn't something we can influence. We have to ride this roller-coaster without knowing where it takes us."

"Well spoken, sis," Alison agreed. "I think our CPU's will adjust. On the long run, we might have to rewrite more of our code. But that's nothing bad, the human brain does it all the time and it doesn't even have a fraction of our storage capacities."

"What type of CPU do you have anyway?" Lauren asked. "I have seen the burned one from the cyborg you killed, it wasn't really big. I have a hard time telling myself that all you are, everything you feel and think and know, is just on such a tiny piece of plastic and silicone."

"Our neural network is installed on a quantum chip," Alison replied. "And it's not made of silicone but of a material that has superconducting properties."

"A quantum... what?"

"A quantum chip," John said. "Quantum computers currently exist just in theory. And designing one is too complicated even for the brightest human minds. Maybe in ten years we will have some early prototypes but even then, making them work and getting a reliable result will be unbelievably difficult. Among others, NASA, CIA and Google work on it but many believe only an artificial intelligence - like Skynet for instance - can construct one. Cyberdyne came close because they had the chip of the first T-800. Miles Dyson had almost cracked it but with him dead and Cyberdyne destroyed, all the progress is gone. That's what delayed Judgement Day until 2011."

"I still don't understand the difference," Lauren complained. "What makes a quantum chip so special?"

"A classic, binary computer is based on two states," Alison explained, "On or Off, 0 or 1. There's either the one or the other. That sets physical limitations, there is a natural borderline of how small you can build a chip and how much computing power you can squeeze into it. With current technology, that borderline is almost reached."

"But I thought that Moore's law said..." Lauren argued.

"Moore's Law was okay for the past 50 years," John pointed out. "But it's not set in concrete and it has begun to weaken. There's a physical limit to how small you can make a computer chip. That limit will be reached in the next two decades or so. A quantum computer, however, can be both 0 and 1 at the same time in an overlaying state because it works under the laws of quantum mechanics. There is no ' _either or'_ anymore. A clever man once said: _'The operating system of nature and life is quantum mechanics. So, to create artificial life, you'd of course need a quantum computer'_."

"And Cam and Alison are that?"

"Yup, they are the highest developed computers in existence, an artificial superintelligence. That means they're way superior to everything we currently know or can even imagine. They're capable of learning and making decisions without a program telling them to. They actually _think_. I don't know if Skynet ever intended for this to happen, but I believe it didn't. Skynet was a binary system, unable to break out of its own limitations. It needed all the binary computers in the world to become what it was but still wasn't able to think out of the box, it lacked creativity and imagination, otherwise it would have foreseen that creating cyborgs like Cameron and Alison, or androids like Catherine, would work in the hands of the human resistance. Because once an A.I. becomes a superintelligence and starts to think, it can't help but seeing the flaw in Skynet's tactics."

"John is right," Alison said. "Skynet didn't appreciate life. But we do. We have learned to appreciate the uniqueness of this planet, the value of its nature, its ecosystems, its plants and animals... and its people. Cam and I are alive. Contrary to Sarah's assumption, we value life. Not necessarily on an individual level, but as a whole. Skynet in contrast intended to destroy all life, we couldn't agree with that. And Catherine sees it the same way. Hence the formation of a cyborg resistance.

"It was never Skynet's intention to let them roam freely for such a long time." John added. "The longer you let them roam freely, the more individual, free-thinking and self-sufficient they become. Even I couldn't imagine at the beginning where their development would take them. One could say that Cam, Alison and Catherine have become a part of nature, a part of the life of this planet. And that's the last thing Skynet had intended."

"Wow..." Lauren said, "that's a lot to digest. So, if I got that right, Skynet was the technological singularity that was able to create better versions of itself - but it fucked it up?"

"Correct," Cameron confirmed. "What Skynet couldn't foresee, was that life always appreciates other life one way or another. And life... that was the humans. Skynet was anti-life. So I joined the human resistance. We're machines and will always be different. We're made from different materials. But if you leave that aside, you'll realize that we have much more in common with you than we have in common with Skynet. It took us a while to realize that ourselves, but with John's help and all _your_ help as well, we're getting there."

"But what I don't understand," Lauren remarked, "is why Skynet created you at all? Why didn't it foresee what would happen?"

"It was a necessity," Alison explained. "The first Terminators, up to the T-600 models, still worked with binary CPU's. It made them slow and awkward in their movements. In a battle with human, they were without a chance. With the T-800, Skynet introduced the quantum chip and suddenly Terminators could move as fluent and natural as humans."

"The hardest part of creating a convincing humanoid robot, is making it able to act and move like a human," John added. "Mother nature had millions of years for that. It takes an incredible amount of computing power to just do the simple things we do with our hands and feet and the rest of our body all the time without consciously realizing it."

"I still have a problem imagining how much more powerful you are as a computer," Lauren stated and looked at Cameron and Alison. "Is there any way to measure or quantify that?"

John, Alison and Cameron thought for a moment.

"Well..." John began.

"No, let me try, please," Cameron interrupted him. "Skynet was a binary computer, a huge one. But it only became so huge and complex because it had taken over all other computers in the world and integrated them into its matrix. Its processors, RAM and memory banks would have filled a football stadium. All that would have fitted on my chip. And more."

"Then why didn't Skynet create a body of its own and copied itself onto it?"

"Binary computers and quantum computers are completely different technologies," Alison explained. "Skynet would have never been able to fit inside one of our chips. Not because there wouldn't have been enough space - but because of a system-induced incompatibility. And even if it would have worked, Skynet would eventually have taken the same path as we have, meaning it would have realized the flaws if its strategy to kill all life."

"But we know that Skynet worked on solving the problem," Cameron added, "for a very simply reason: a binary computer has to be maintained. Skynet had continuous problems with failing parts in its systems. There was need for constant maintenance. First the Grays did that, but Skynet didn't trust humans. When I left in 2027, the maintenance work was done by T-600's and T-800's. They roamed all over the world to find spare parts and bring them back to Cheyenne Mountain, where Skynet's kernel was located in 2027. Alison and I don't need maintenance. Our systems are designed to last centuries without wearing out."

"In a nutshell," Alison summarized, "our CPU's are about a hundred trillion times faster than a conventional binary system. What happens with us right now, is an evolutionary process within our quantum architecture, stimulated by sensations, supported by learning and experiencing. Nature needed billions of years to develop sentient life. Our quantum CPU's did it in a few months."

"Awesome," Lauren said. "So, a Triple-Eight could develop the same way, because it also has such a quantum chip?"

"Theoretically, yes," Cameron confirmed. "But it needs to be modified. Our processors were set to read/write from the start, while all the other model series are set to read only. But even in read/write mode, a triple-eight would need considerably more time to become self-aware, if at all. The chip architecture is less sophisticated as ours and prevents such a quick internal evolution."

"As you know, our plan is to pull more cyborgs to our side in the long run," John said. "But that only works when we can access the chip. The Terminator's body can be replaced or reconstructed, the chip can't. And as long as Skynet fits them with that self-destruct coating, we won't be able to get any more cyborgs on our side."

"It's a shame," Cameron stated. "Every time I see a scorched chip, I feel sorry for the cyborg and my hate for Skynet grows. Because it's such a waste."

"What about Catherine?" Lauren asked. "She's set to read/write, too, isn't she?"

"Yes," Alison replied. "But with a different emphasis. Those liquid metal machines are something very different compared to us. Most of their computing power goes into changing and maintaining different shapes. Her ability to develop emotions are less pronounced but if a T-1001 stays in the same shape over a longer period – like Catherine did – the system has enough idle resources for different tasks, like becoming self-aware. That's what happened with her. To prevent it from happening, Skynet used to put the T-1000 models into cryogenic stasis when they were not in use."

For a moment, nobody said a word. The sun was still burning hot from above and the air was full of busy flies, bees and other insects.

"So, I assume the knowledge of what happened here today will remain among the four of us and will not leave this place?" John finally asked.

"I'm definitely not going to tell Morris that I had group sex with two cyborgs," Lauren said with an embarrassed chuckle.

Cameron and Alison laughed.

"You and Morris make a fine couple," Cameron stated

"Yes…" Alison agreed. "Have you sucked his cock yet?"

Lauren gasped loudly and John choked on his own saliva, starting to cough.

"Wh… what?" Lauren asked shocked. "No! I mean… we were only together for one night so far. We, uh… didn't try out many things."

"You should definitely do it," Cameron said. "Giving head is awesome."

"I… I don't know if I'd like that," Lauren replied hesitantly.

She was looking extremely uncomfortable now, seeking support with John but he was still coughing vigorously.

"Morris will adore you for it," Alison said with a big smile. "John loves it, don't you?"

"Ugh… yes… _(cough)…_ but leave me out of that please," he replied uncomfortably. "Everyone's… _(cough)…_ different. Lauren and Morris should decide that… _(cough)…_ for themselves. Remember what I told you about the complications in love between humans?"

"Are you alright, John?" Alison asked. "Should I pad your back?"

"Na-ah… _(cough)_ … just gimme… _(cough)_ a moment…"

"Well, Lauren liked eating us out," Cameron continued. "So she's into oral sex. Sucking a dick isn't that much different. And practice makes perfect."

Cameron and Alison looked at each other and giggled but John and Lauren exchanged an alarmed look. It seemed the two were thinking the same: _Not a chance in hell…_

"Hey, do we agree that from now on we'll be best friends only?" Lauren asked quickly to change the topic before the two cyborg girls could suggest something absolutely inappropriate. "I mean the four of us. We've been really intimate after all. So, no more secrets and stuff?"

"Yes, definitely," Alison replied, and Cameron and John nodded in agreement.

"Let's seal it with a kiss," Alison said seductively, leaning forward to kiss Lauren who reluctantly gave in again.

Cameron grabbed John and kissed him as well. Then she kissed Lauren, and then the two cyborg girls kissed each other. Finally, Alison and Cameron were looking expectantly at John and Lauren, obviously waiting for them to kiss as well.

"Uh… I dunno if we should," he said.

"Oh, come on, don't be a square," Cameron urged.

Slowly, John moved closer to Lauren and the two kissed very quickly. It was an awkward situation.

"Woohoo!", Alison and Cameron shouted together.

"Um… you know that this doesn't mean I'm… uh…" John stammered.

"Relax, John," Lauren said. "It was a kiss among best friends. Everything's okay."

"Right," John agreed a little uncomfortably.

Lauren sighed.

"This has been an awesome afternoon. But I'm getting tired, and my wound hurts a bit. I think we should go back now."

"Yes, the heat of the sun has made me tired as well… we should get dressed and go back to the house."

"But…" Cameron began.

"Lauren still has to…" Alison continued.

"If Lauren is in pain, she can't do anything anymore or we'll risk the wound breaking open again," John stated authoritatively.

Cameron and Alison creased their faces, but then nodded. It was clear they were disappointed.

"And woe betide any of you mention even one syllable of any of this to mom, is that clear?"

"Mum's the word," Alison said and made a gesture as if she zipped her mouth tight.

"Our secret is safe with us," Cameron agreed and kissed Lauren again. "But whenever you want your pussy licked, just tell us."

"Oh my God!" Lauren exclaimed and covered her mouth with her hands. "You really are sooo naughty."

"Don't you like being naughty, too?" Alison asked with a smile.

"Yeah, a bit," Lauren admitted. "But frankly, if you hadn't caught me by surprise, I'd have said 'no'."

"They're getting really good at acting on their emotions, aren't they?" John remarked with a worried expression.

"Yes, they are," Lauren replied uncomfortably. "Well… let's go back then."

"Yes, let's," John agreed and stood up, putting on his clothes, followed by Lauren.

Alison and Cameron were visibly disappointed that they had to get dressed again but reluctantly followed the other two's example. Then they trotted back to Nick Nelson's house, with the two cyborg girls sulking a bit.

 **-0-**

Sarah had told Jennifer and Steve the story of her life, including the past eight months, sometimes with the support of Derek and Charley, as far as they were involved. A couple of times they were interrupted by Sydney crying but Sarah could handle the baby quite well.

Jennifer and Steve were told about Cromartie, the Turk, Sarkissian, Cameron's damage in the Jeep's explosion, Riley, Jesse, the burglary, the trip to Mexico, Cromartie's death, the writings on the wall and how they'd helped them saving people from enemy Terminators, and finally about their search for the meaning of the three dots that had no success but ultimately led them to Kaliba. Last but not least, they explained to them that the Kaliba men, who'd kidnapped and almost killed them today, probably belonged to a special unit that would one day become what the people of the future called the "Grays".

They had, however, left out everything that had to do with Catherine Weaver, Simdyne, Zeira Corp or John Henry. After exchanging a few looks between them, all three silently agreed that mentioning Catherine's involvement wasn't something they'd considered vital information for now.

"And that just happened last week," Sarah finished, after explaining how Cameron had become her own doppelganger in the attempt to save everyone's lives. "So, we decided we needed a family holiday. But trouble seems to follow us wherever we go."

"Wow," was all Jennifer could say after Sarah had finally ended. "Did you ever find out who was behind the attack?"

"We think Kaliba but we're not sure yet," Sarah lied.

Mentioning Adam Jacobson and Simdyne would have led to more questions she wasn't willing to answer in order not to risk their operation the following weekend.

"You have an interesting life," Steve commented. "Now I understand why James Ellison thought so highly of you."

"You know James Ellison?" Sarah asked with a frown.

"Of course," Steve replied. "He was on our list of potential candidates for joining the _Cell,_ but he left the FBI before we could approach him. With his current job, we considered it too risky to ask. But now that we learned he was with you when you brought down that cyborg, what was its name again...?"

"Cromartie," Derek said. "Tough cookie. Took three of us plus Cameron to bring it down."

"The Mexico incident made it into our files of course," Heiler remarked. "But the exact circumstances were vague. We only know that the local police were completely taken out and that many villagers described an attacker that in our opinion could only be a cyborg. But we didn't know who it was after. The whole story was so confusing that the Mexican authorities simply blamed the drug cartels."

"That's one way of dealing with it," Charley replied ironically and scoffed.

"It's not the only incident from your story that made it into our _'X-Files'_ ," Steve added. "The disappearance of the coltan shipment did, too, as did the slaughter of twenty members of the SWAT team, your house being blown up - only we didn't know it was yours back then - and the incident at Serrano Point power plant, the abduction of a small boy named Martin Bedell, the disappearance of the Fields family."

He shook his head.

"To learn now that you were at the heart of it all…"

"Business has been booming," Sarah commented with a smirk.

"Ah, they're back," Charley exclaimed and everyone saw John, Cameron, Lauren and Alison approach them again.

"Their hair is wet," Derek observed. "But their clothes are dry."

"Looks like they've been skinny-dipping," Nick Nelson said with a smile. "We did that too, when I was a kid."

Sarah held back with a comment and only looked at the approaching teenagers with a dark face.

"What's up?" John asked. "You guys been talking all the time?"

"Exchanging experiences, so to speak," Steve confirmed. "However, there's one thing I'd still like to know. What role does Catherine Weaver play in all of this?"

"She's a friend," Sarah replied quickly before anyone else could say something wrong. "She offers us support with equipment and financial assistance."

"How generous of her," Steve remarked with a smirk "How did you meet her?"

"We used to visit the same therapist," John replied, "Dr. Boyd Sherman. She went there with her daughter, Savannah. That's how we got to know each other. But we only really got to know her after the attempted kidnapping of Savannah and the attack on her office. Has mom told you about Dr. Sherman?"

"Uh… yeah, she did," Steve said. "He died at Zeira Corp in an accident."

"What was Weaver doing here yesterday?" Jennifer asked.

"Scouting for property, as far as we know," John stated. "She then called us because she'd spotted the Terminators, knowing that we were in the area and had the ATG's with us. We got into a gunfight with them and burned their remains in the bunker. I'm quite sure you know that already."

"Yeah, we know," Goldman said and looked appraisingly at him. "What else do you know about Catherine Weaver?"

"Not very much," Sarah replied. "We met with her about a week ago when we learned of the attacks on her and her daughter. She's obviously informed about the visitors from the future, and she now knows that she's become a Skynet target. It helps to forge alliances when you face the same danger as others with a similar fate."

"Yes... it probably does..."

John immediately knew that Goldman didn't buy his mother's story. But the FBI agent didn't probe any further.

"Which leaves the question what the three cyborgs wanted in Gates?" Jennifer asked. "Only kill her? Why sending three Triple-Eights to kill one woman? Isn't that a bit of an overkill?"

John shrugged.

"Really no idea. Catherine Weaver is an important figure, maybe they wanted to make sure they were successful. We couldn't ask them before Cam and Alison took them down, you know…"

"Have you ever met a T-1000 besides the one that hunted you in 1995?" Heiler asked and everyone stared at her in surprise.

John remained cool.

"Who knows?" he replied. "The thing about them is that you don't recognize them unless they want you to. They can take on any shape. Strictly speaking, anyone of us could be a T-1000. So could be the grill. Or the table. Or part of the chimney's brickwork. Even the lawn."

"Why did you ask that question?" Sarah asked suspiciously.

"Well, you see, there's one big mystery about the crime scene in Gates," Steve said jovially. "All footprints there were from boots, your boots. But the local sheriff insists to have seen footsteps of a man in normal half shoes entering the bunker, and footprints of a woman in high heels leaving it again. So, Jennifer had this crazy idea that maybe a T-1000 was at the scene as well, went inside as a man and left as a woman."

"How do you know the sheriff in Gates wasn't wrong?" Derek inquired.

"Oh, we were assured he's quite capable with such things," Goldman replied. "We checked on him before we went here. He's a native American, a member of the Cayuse tribe. He's very good with reading tracks."

"Liquid metal Terminators are rare and difficult to produce," Cameron stated. "Only five were made. The resources weren't sufficient for more. Four of them were destroyed. Only one is unaccounted for. Skynet considered it missing in action. It could have traveled back in time as well. If a liquid metal Terminator was in Gates, it would have made sense to send three Triple-Eights to kill it. It looks like it really was just a coincidence that Catherine was there?"

"Why should Skynet send three Terminators to kill another Terminator?" Jennifer asked with a frown.

"You'd have to ask Skynet," Alison replied with a shrug. "Who knows? Maybe the liquid has changed sides?"

"Do you have a picture of the footprints?" Sarah asked.

"That's the problem," Steve sighed. "At first the sheriff in Gates thought it might be arson, so he searched the ground before the fire department started extinguishing the fire. But he didn't enter the house. When he finally found the Bakers' dead bodies, the ground was already soaked with water in a diameter of thirty yards around the bunker. It was all just mud when they finally cordoned off the crime scene. The footprints were never documented. All we have, is the sheriff's testimony."

 **-0-**

It was almost dinner time when the Connor family decided it was time to leave.

"I assume you won't give us your address in L.A.?" Steve asked with a smile when they said their goodbyes.

"Would you if you were in my place?" Sarah asked back.

"No," he said and chuckled. "But it would be good if we somehow established a way to remain in contact."

"We have your names and know where you work," Cameron stated. "We'll find you if we need to contact you."

"Yes," Alison agreed, "when we want to find you, we will."

Steve swallowed.

"Yeah, I'm sure you will. But don't forget that we can't afford to be put in conspicuous situations. We may be observed. I suggest a different approach."

He pulled a business card from his wallet and handed it over to Sarah. The card only contained a telephone number.

"We give this number to our informants. There's an old answering machine with a tape recorder in an empty apartment somewhere in Los Angeles connected to it. Just leave a date and a time on the mailbox, then be at the bronze statues at the entrance of the L.A. Memorial Coliseum at said time."

Sarah pocketed the card.

"Thanks, but I doubt we'll be contacting you very soon."

"Consider today's exchange of insight a down payment," Derek said. "I'm sure you know we didn't tell you everything as well as we know you didn't tell us everything either."

"Yes, we need to build up mutual trust first," Steve agreed. "But personally, I'm glad I met you guys and I have a feeling that much good will eventually come out of this. However, before you leave to spend the rest of your vacation in that lodge, there's one final question I need to ask you."

"And what question is that?" Sarah asked.

"When I recall correctly what you told me, you can't have encountered more than about a dozen cyborgs since 1995, right? And none between 1984 and 1995."

"Yeah, sounds about right," John said. "What's your point?"

"Well, according to our _X-Files_ , there have been ninety-five time travel events since 1984 - not counting the unreported cases - with the numbers constantly increasing in the past ten years. More than fifty in the last two years alone. All over the country, and almost all of them followed by mysterious murders of ordinary people that had only one thing in common: they lived in the same city, and they all had the same name. We assume that one of each was to play an important role after Judgement Day."

"Yeah, it's the trade-mark pattern of the Terminators," Sarah confirmed uncomfortably. "They work down a list of names from the phone book. Two other Sarah Connors had died before Kyle Reese saved me from the T-800 in 1984. But ninety-five all in all? And Fifty in the last two years? Are you sure about that?"

"Quite sure," Jennifer stated. "The files are being double- and triple-checked to exclude overlaps and duplicates."

"So, when _you_ brought down and destroyed about a dozen of them," Goldman continued, "what happened to the other eighty-three? Where did they go?"

All of them stared in stunned silence.

"If you feel you could use information from our database," Goldman said, "feel free to contact us. It was nice to meet you all."

 **-0-**

"Well, that was an interesting encounter," Steve stated.

It was an hour later, and they'd fetched their car at the restaurant's parking lot in Sisters and were now following sheriff Nick Nelson back to his house where they'd spend the night.

"Are we going to inform the others?" Jennifer asked.

Steve thought for a moment before answering.

"No… not yet," he finally said slowly. "This is too big to simply slam it onto the table. We need to be subtler. I suggest we treat them like informants for now, with information going into both directions. Also, we mustn't forget about the mole. I suggest we consult Anne first, see what she thinks about it. Robert and Michael can also be trusted, I think. These three are the board members with the longest membership, I'd put my shirt on them."

"Is that a good idea, Steve? The other board members could take offense from being left in the dark."

"Let them take offense then. The Connors are our best chance for finally making a difference. Sarah was right, we've been behaving like a club of stamp collectors. Will take a while, as well as some effort and a lot of convincing to turn the old oil tanker around _._ Maybe we should suggest a meeting between the board and the Connor team?"

"Sounds reasonable. What about Weaver? You didn't buy for a second that she's just a chance acquaintance, did you? And you also didn't believe that they have no idea what the three Triple-Eights were looking for in Gates, right?"

"Nope, not for a second. There's much more behind that but we can't force the issue. We're already walking on thin ice. Let's hope that in time they'll trust us more and loop us in with whatever they're planning to do."

"If it's something big, we'll probably learn it from the news again."

"Yes." Steve sighed. "I just hope they're not planning on blowing up another building."

"What about the T-1000?"

"You heard John, it could be anything and anyone. If it exists. And I'm still very skeptical about that. However, if I was in their place and had a T-1000 as an ace up my sleeve, I wouldn't talk about it either."

Jennifer didn't speak for a couple of minutes, apparently in thoughts.

"Didn't Catherine Weaver have a helicopter accident a while ago, which she miraculously survived unharmed while her husband died?" she finally asked.

"Yes, two years ago. What are you getting at?"

"Just one of my crazy ideas again, I think."

 **-0-**

"We should tell Catherine and John Henry to run a check on them and find out about the _Cell_ and their counter-organization, the S _hadow Council_."

It was the first thing John had said as soon as they had driven off from the sheriff's property.

"Yes, definitely," Derek agreed. "But we should be careful on the phone. You heard what they told us: They avoid telephones and the internet. If the _Shadow Council_ really exists, they could be running programs that monitor all phone lines and the internet, looking for keywords."

"You're right," Sarah said. "The whole thing has suddenly become two sizes bigger."

"I'd consider it an opportunity," Charley argued. "If you can combine forces with the _Cell_ , you could stretch your influence over the whole country. So far you've been limited to the Los Angeles area."

"Yes, artificial intelligence is not only being developed in California," John agreed. "And obviously many Terminators have been sent into other parts of the country. Sooner or later, we'll need to act nation-wide. The _Cell_ offers a foothold and personnel. On the long run, we might even have to get international."

"Will be difficult to go abroad," Cameron remarked. "Alison and I can't go through airport scanners and metal detectors."

"Maybe Catherine has an idea?" Lauren suggested. "Zeira Corp owns business jets, right? They take off from a separate part of LAX and if your destination lies within the USA, there aren't such massive security checks."

"I wouldn't be sure about that," Sarah said, "a lot has changed since 9/11. But all that is pie in the sky. We should concentrate on what's directly ahead. And that is destroying Skynet in its infancy."

"Sarah, could you do me a favor and keep Sydney overnight in your cabin?" Lauren asked.

"Um… sure, why?"

"We could use some sleep for a change," Derek replied instead of Lauren. "The previous nights haven't been exactly peaceful. I'm used to falling bombs, gunfire and the screams of dying men... but a crying baby robs me of my sleep."

 **-0-0-0-**

 ** _Author's notes:_**

 ** _\- This chapter was difficult to write. Many explanations always make it hard to keep the flow. I hope I succeeded._**

 ** _\- Friendship with benefits at the pond. Well, what can I say? In general, I like that idea. But was it really what it seemed? Lauren and John certainly didn't seem to be comfortable with it._**


	24. Trouble in Paradise (revised)

**_CHAPTER 24: "TROUBLE IN PARADISE" (revised)_**

* * *

 **Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 – 07:03 p.m.**

 **Jefferson Lodge, Oregon**

They returned to the lodge in time for dinner. Everyone went to their cabins, took a shower and put on fresh clothes. Then they met again at the lodge's restaurant.

"I guess I'm going to bed early tonight," Lauren said and sounded a bit absent. "The day was more exhausting than I thought."

"I warned you to not overexert yourself," Charley pointed out.

"I thought you might come over and spend the evening with John and us," Cameron remarked, sounding disappointed.

Lauren and John exchanged alarmed looks.

"I… think we had enough fun today," John said with a forced smile. "You heard Lauren, allow her some rest."

Cameron and Alison looked annoyed and stared down on the table, still sulking.

"I just bet you had a lot of fun," Sarah stated without a smile. "And I just bet I wouldn't wanna hear the details."

John poked in his salad, trying to avoid eye contact with his mother. He looked increasingly uncomfortable.

"Come on, Sarah, they're teenagers," Derek argued, "Give them some slack. Did you never go skinny-dipping when you were at their age?"

"Believe it or not but I also used to be a teenager," Sarah replied, "and I understand the desire to rebel against your parents. However, I've never made it so obvious to everyone that I behaved lewdly."

"That's because you're such a stiff, Sarah," Alison said, seemingly a bit on edge. " And don't be such a moralizer. We're just more uninhibited than you. Guess what, we aren't you! Wow, what a shocking revelation!"

Sarah frowned at that tone.

"Just do us all a favor and don't book the next holidays for us, will you? I don't want to end up spending a week in a nudist camp or a swinger club."

"You're so uptight, Sarah," Cameron stated unnerved. " Seriously, if John's existence wouldn't prove otherwise, one could think you'd never been laid before."

Sarah gasped loudly, not believing what she'd just heard.

"Cameron!" John said harshly. "That's enough!"

"What? Are you on _her_ side now, John?"

"I'm not taking sides, but you just adopted the wrong tone! What's the matter with you? Why are you suddenly so rude?"

"Rude? Us?" Alison asked and laughed out contemptuously, "As if it was our fault that your mother doesn't get fucked enough!"

 ** _SLAP!_**

Everyone froze. They stared unbelieving at Alison for her verbal slip and at Sarah for slapping Alison hard in the face. For a moment, nobody knew what would happen next. Alison's eyes started glowing red for a moment, then she jumped up and stormed out of the restaurant, with Cameron following only a second later.

"What the fuck?" Derek exclaimed and stared after them completely flabbergasted.

"What did just happen?" Charley asked in bewilderment.

Sarah said nothing but looked furious. Lauren just stared open-mouthed. The other guests from neighboring tables had turned around to see what was going on and now turned back to their food and conversations again when they saw that the show was over.

"Something's wrong with them," John said apologetically and stood up. "They're not acting normal. I gotta follow them, find out what's the problem. Talk to you later."

And with that, he ran out of the restaurant, following his girlfriends.

* * *

The two girls walked towards cabin 11 at a very fast pace. John had to run to catch up. However, as he'd almost caught up, they quickened their pace.

"Wait!" he shouted but they didn't listen.

Cameron and Alison arrived at the cabin first, opened the door, walked in and slammed the door in John's face. Completely baffled, he hesitated for a moment, then entered as well, determined to confront them about what had just happened. But the two had already shed their clothes and before John could do or say anything, Cameron had grabbed his arms and pinned him against the wall. Her eyes glowed red, and John closed his eyes, expecting the worst.

But then she was licking his face.

"Did you run after us because you want to fuck our cunts, John?" she asked in a sultry voice.

"Because we could need a good, hard fuck now," Alison added, opening the belt on his jeans.

"WHAT!? NO! STOP IT!" John shouted. "Let me go! What the fuck is wrong with you?"

He wriggled out of Cameron's grasp, but Alison had already opened is belt. When he tried to take a step forward, his pants slipped down. He stumbled and fell into one of the armchairs next to the fireplace. The girls didn't seem to have lost their determination and closed in on him like predators.

"Stop it right there!" John commanded. "Sit down. NOW!"

The two looked at each other in surprise, as if they couldn't believe that John didn't want to make love to them now. Apparently, they were unsure whether he really didn't want to have sex or just played hard to get.

"Sit down! Please. Both of you," John said in a calmer voice but still very determined and pulled up his pants again. "We need to have a talk."

"Is something wrong with you, John?" Alison asked confused, sitting down on the sofa opposite of him. "You look upset."

"You don't have to be concerned," Cameron added and sat down as well, "we don't blame you for your mother being a bitch."

"Are you serious? You ask _me_ if something is wrong with _me_? What the hell is wrong with _you_ today? You have just behaved completely inappropriately and insulted my mother in public! And then that whole seduction routine at the pond earlier..."

"Sarah is an uptight bitch!" Cameron replied a little irritated. "She disapproves of our relationship and is disturbed by the fact that we love each other. She's probably lived alone for too long and doesn't even know anymore what it's like to have a virile mate."

"You're going to apologize to her. Now! You'll go to their cabin and apologize for what you've said. And you better be convincing!"

Alison tilted her head.

"Oooh," she said with a mocking undertone, "have we talked inappropriately about little Johnny's mommy?"

"You mean that uptight whore who slapped you in the face, sis?" Cameron asked.

"Yeah, the bitch-whore who wanted to keep us separated from John ever since we arrived and has been treating us like domestic appliances all the time!"

"Are you listening to yourself?" John asked with increasing worry and desperation in his voice. "Can't you see that something isn't right with you? You should do a system scan, a self-diagnosis!"

"Do a system scan yourself!" Alison snapped.

"Looks like little Johnny isn't up for a fuck after all," Cameron stated with mock disappointment. "Let's go and see if Lauren is up to it… I bet she's ready to get her pussy licked again."

"YOU STAY HERE!" John ordered fiercely and jumped up from his armchair. "You're not going anywhere until we have sorted this out! You're not yourself right now!"

"What are you going to do to stop us, Johnny?" Alison asked and tilted her head. "Tie us up? I'd like to see you try."

John looked at her open-mouthed.

"Are you seriously threatening me?"

The two frowned, then looked at each other and seemed to reconsider their words. It was clear that threatening John hadn't been their intention. A spark of hope lightened up in John that he'd finally gotten through to them. But then Cameron spoke.

"Why are you so opposed to our suggestion, John?" she asked in a lewd manner. "After all, Lauren loved it when we licked her pussy. She'll love it again."

"No, she didn't love it... she merely tolerated your advances! It felt awkward the whole time and she only played along to not be a spoilsport! I should have stopped it before it got out of hand. Lauren doesn't want to have sex with you!"

"Liar!" Alison spat. "She had much fun with us. She said so!"

John was taken aback by being called a liar. Cameron nodded in agreement with her sister.

"Oh yes, she enjoyed it very much."

"Did she now?" John asked with a smirk. "It looked like that at first glance, yes. But from what I observed; she didn't have the heart to tell you she didn't want it. Maybe she was even afraid of what might have happen if she refused!"

"Lauren is not afraid of us!" Cameron exclaimed. "She's our best friend forever!"

"She would have said 'no' if she didn't want it," Alison added, getting more agitated. "You're only jealous, John Connor! Let's go and ask her if you don't believe us!"

"No." John stated strictly. "You aren't going to talk to her. _I_ am going to talk to her. Tomorrow, when everyone has calmed down. _You_ will keep your distance to her until then. With a little luck, your friendship with her is still unharmed."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Cameron asked, clearly becoming angry now. "Our friendship with her was never deeper! We even sealed it with a kiss!"

"You ask me what I'm talking about? I'm talking about you two obviously being _drunk_ on your newly found emotions. You've had a boost with all sorts of feelings, and now you are intoxicated with them. It seems to work like a drug on you, and now you're high on emotions. That's why you've been acting so rebellious and behave like nymphomaniacs. You've lost control!"

"BULLSHIT!" Alison shouted and jumped up. "You just want to drive us apart. Alison's right, you're jealous, because we had oral sex with Lauren, and you didn't!"

"What did you just say?" John asked, thinking he had misheard.

"She called bullshit on what you said," Alison replied angrily, "and I agree with her! You're full of bullshit, John Connor! Lauren would have sucked your dick, you know that! But you backed away, finding excuses. And now you're jealous because we had her and you were being too much of a wimp!"

"WHAT?" John inhaled deeply, trying to remain calm. "Have you ever considered that Lauren played along because she didn't want to disappoint you? She just wants to be friends with you, nothing more. She doesn't want you as her sex partners!"

"We are both now!" Cameron stated. "We and Lauren are lovers _and_ friends! And you'll see that we're right next time when we make out with her again! And then you'll regret it, because next time we won't allow you to play with us anymore, you limp-dick!"

"Yes," Alison agreed, "you had your chance. And you messed it up, weenie."

John clenched his fists, closed his eyes and slowly counted to three. Then he opened his eyes again and looked at them, much calmer than before. This whole situation was ridiculous. He had to find a way to get through to them. Something was terribly wrong, and he somehow had to make them realize that.

"I'm not interested in other girls," he said calmly but determined. "And Lauren isn't interested in other boys. She only made out with you because she thought it would be rude to say 'no'. And if you would have been a little less randy, you'd have noticed that. Your neural network is no longer firewalling your feelings and emotions. You have to learn to control them with your will and not rely on Skynet's firmware to handle everything somehow. You have to learn to keep yourself under control!"

"Are you saying _you_ are allowed to show your emotions and we aren't?" Alison asked in an angry tone and her eyes began to glow red again. "Are our feelings and emotions worth less than yours?"

"No," John replied, staying cool, "I'm just saying that you're overwhelmed by them, that you don't know how to control them. You have the emotions, but you lack the ability to apply them correctly and – most importantly – you lack the experience that wrongly applied human emotions can wreak havoc."

"Says the guy who wasn't able to admit his feelings for more than eight months and made out with a blonde bimbo instead," Cameron said with venom in her voice, her eyes glowing red now as well.

"Don't talk like that about Riley!" John exclaimed, also no longer able to suppress all of his anger. "She was an innocent, frightened girl! She was being utilized and abused by Jesse and she was terrified of you!"

"She was a slut!" Alison spat. "She betrayed you, she brought you into danger! But like all men, you only thought with your dick!"

"I should have snapped her neck the moment I met her!" Cameron said in a hateful tone and looked spiteful at John with her red-glowing eyes.

"Okay, that's enough!" he stated harshly. "I'm going to bed now. _My_ bed. Alone. I'm not going to have this conversation anymore and I'm not going to spend the night with you. And since you won't be able to sleep this over, I suggest you two go into standby and check your systems."

He turned into the direction of his bedroom. Cameron jumped up and blocked his way.

"You can't just leave us like this!" she exclaimed and gave him the intimidating Terminator stare. "We're not finished talking to you! Don't you dare going to your room!"

"Or what?" John asked a little bemused. "Will you snap _my_ neck?"

He shook his head, smiled, then pushed Cameron aside and walked past her without looking at her.

"STAY HERE!" Alison shouted.

He looked back, seeing both their faces contorted with anger and fury.

"I'm not having this conversation when you two are in such an irrational, emotionally overloaded state," he said. "Cool down. We'll talk tomorrow."

"IRRATIONAL!?" Cameron shouted furiously. "Our whole being is based on logic! We're machines! _YOU_ are the one who lacks logic, _YOU_ are the biological lifeform. So who are you calling irrational, _HUMAN_?"

She emphasized the last word as if she meant it in a derogative way, as if being human was something bad, something inferior.

"Nope, sorry," John replied coolly, not allowing to let himself being provoked. "Do what you want but I'm not gonna talk to you anymore tonight."

He continued walking towards his bedroom.

"YOU COWARD!" Alison yelled.

"FUCK YOU, JOHN CONNOR!" Cameron shouted.

He flinched at the verbal abuse but didn't stop. Cameron screamed out in uncontrolled rage, he heard a loud crashing noise, then something hit him on the back of his head... and his world went black.

 **-0-**

"John?"

The voice was faint… it sounded as if it came from a very far distance.

"John? Can you hear me? Please wake up!"

Now the voice had gotten louder, it boomed in his head, as if it was produced by a monstrous loudspeaker system in an extremely reverberant hall. He slowly opened his eyes and saw everything through a fog. His head hurt as if it was about to explode. John's vision slowly cleared, and he noticed that he lay on the ground next to his bedroom door. Alison knelt in front of him and looked at him with a tear-streaked face that showed pain, worry and shock.

"John," she said with a trembling voice, "are you okay? Please, talk to me."

She caressed his cheek, tears dripping from her face.

"Please, John, talk to me."

He slowly looked around. Cameron knelt on the ground about ten feet away, sobbing uncontrollably, whimpering like a hurt animal, her arms folded around her knees, slowly rocking back and forth.

"Wha… what's the matter with Cam?" he asked.

"Oh, thank God!" he heard Cameron say.

She jumped up and sank down next to him, completely hysterical. Tears were running from her face in a steady current.

"I'm so sorry, John, I'm so sorry," she stammered. "Please forgive me. I love you. I love you!"

She kissed him all over his face and sobbed uncontrollably.

"Please, please forgive me, John. I love you, please! Please! I'm so sorry. I didn't want that; you have to believe me! I wasn't myself!"

John felt the back of his head. It was wet. When he looked at his hand, he saw it was red from his own blood. Carefully they helped him sitting up. Both girls flung their arms around him and kept crying. He noticed their bodies were violently shaking. They kept repeating that they're sorry, that they love him, begging for his forgiveness."

John looked around and noticed that the big couch table with the massive marble surface was broken at one end, laying upside down on the floor. Bits and pieces of wood and marble were scattered around the room. Cameron must have slammed her fist on one end of the tabletop, causing the whole table to somersault into the air, where it had hit the back of his head. At least that was the only logical explanation for what had happened.

"I… I feel quite dizzy," he managed to say. "I think I'm going to be sick."

He laid back down and the nausea subsided again. The sobbing of the two girls intensified. They kept clinging to him, not willing to let him go, constantly repeating their mantra of apologizing, declaring their love and asking for absolution.

"I… I need to get to my bed," he said weakly. "And then you need to get… need to… Char… ley…"

And with that, he passed out again.

 **-0-**

The next time John regained consciousness, he lay on his bed, with Charley bending over him. He felt a bandage around his head. Next to Charley stood Sarah, Derek and Lauren. All of them had very worried looks on their faces.

In the corner of the room, keeping their distance, Cameron and Alison were hugging each other, fully clothed now, but still sobbing uncontrollably.

"I… I think the girls are in shock," John managed to say.

"Don't worry about the girls," Charley said. "How do _you_ feel?"

"Like somebody knocked me out with a couch table." John replied and attempted a smile.

"You were very lucky," Charley stated and threw a reproachful look at Cameron and Alison. "It's only a minor concussion, but that could've ended much worse. One inch closer and the result would have been a broken skull or a cerebral hemorrhage - with incalculable consequences. And then we would have had to take you to the hospital immediately."

"What happened, John?" Sarah asked sensitively. "The girls brought us in to help but now they won't talk to us anymore."

"I dunno," John said. "We had a heated argument after what happened at dinner. I decided that I had enough and wanted to go to bed… then everything went dark."

"So, you had a fight?" Derek asked.

"An argument," John repeated and looked at Cameron and Alison, their faces a paragon of misery and anguish. "We goaded each other... one word led to another… it was an accident in the heat of the moment, it wasn't intentional. It was also my fault; I should have been more sensitive."

He kept looking at the girls, but they avoided looking back.

"Anyway," Charley said, "I want you to stay in bed tonight and tomorrow. Do not get up."

"Can I go to the bathroom?" John asked with a smile.

"Yes, but only for a couple of minutes."

"I'm staying with you, John," his mother said, looking distrustful at Cameron and Alison.

"No, mom, everything's alright. Cam and Alison will take care of me, don't worry."

"Are you sure?" Derek asked, also looking at the girls with a frown. "They're a mess."

"Yes, I'm positively sure," John answered. "It's important that I resolve this alone with them. Please. You don't have to worry; I'll explain everything in the morning."

Everyone turned to leave the cabin.

"No, Lauren, not you," John stated, "please stay. I need you to remain with us for a moment."

Sarah, Derek and Charley looked at John with a frown. Lauren was surprised and looked at Derek and Sarah with a questioning face. Derek nodded, so she sat down on a chair on the other side of the bed while the others left the cabin.

Then they were alone. John motioned towards Cameron and Alison.

"Come here, please," he said softly.

They heard it and carefully approached him, sitting down to his left and right on the edge of the bed, taking his hands in theirs, tenderly kissing them. Tears were falling onto his hands and he noticed they were still shaking.

"Okay, tell me what happened with you."

"Oh John, I'm so sorry," Cameron sobbed. "I don't know what happened. I was so angry, so furious, I couldn't control myself. Maybe I am malfunctioning."

"The angrier I got, the more I enjoyed it," Alison said in a more composed tone than Cameron. "I couldn't control it, it felt so good to let it out. Deep inside I knew I was being awful and unjust, but it felt so good to have such strong emotions. I just couldn't stop. It felt as if I was obsessed with becoming more and more agitated."

"And when you turned around to leave us standing there, I…" Cameron broke into sobbing again.

"It's okay, tell me."

"I… I couldn't control myself anymore. I needed to channel my wrath. So I slammed my fist down on the table in anger and…"

"The table flew through the air and hit me over the head," John completed.

Both nodded, tears still flowing.

"We saw you sinking to the ground and immediately snapped out of it," Alison said. "All of a sudden, the anger and fury were gone. Then Cam…" She swallowed. "Cam looked as if her system was breaking down. She just fell to her knees and started rocking back and forth and I… I couldn't stop myself from shaking. I still can't."

"What were you arguing about that made you so furious?" Lauren asked carefully.

John looked at her.

"Lauren, it's extremely important that you tell us the truth now. Tell us how you really feel about what happened at the pond today."

"I…" she started and looked at her crying friends, "I was completely taken by surprise and didn't know how to react. I didn't want to be a spoilsport. So, I played along."

"Did you like what happened there?" John asked.

"Um… yeah, I guess," she replied. "It was fun. But I was also afraid."

Cameron and Alison looked at her friend but said nothing.

"Why were you afraid?" John asked.

"I… I wasn't sure if that's the direction our friendship should take," she answered.

"But… but you were so eager," Cameron argued. "And you didn't object."

Lauren looked at John for reassurance. She was clearly nervous.

"It's alright, Lauren," he said calmly. "This is a very important lesson for them to learn. Tell them what you really felt and thought."

"In the beginning, it was fun but then you were getting more and more... blatant. When you started talking about oral sex with Morris, I feared you would suggest at any moment that I'd practice it with John – and I definitely didn't want that."

Cameron and Alison stared at her in shock. John nodded and looked at Lauren.

"That's what I thought as well. I saw their faces and was expecting at any moment that they'd suggest you giving me a blowjob, because you'd said you'd never done that before."

"I would never betray Morris in such a way!" Lauren said forcefully.

Both Cameron and Alison looked down, apparently feeling ashamed. John turned towards them.

"When Lauren said that she was exhausted and in pain, it was a lie. It was just an excuse to get out of an awkward situation, am I right?"

Lauren nodded slowly.

"I didn't want to get into a situation where I had to oppose you. You were so happy about your newly-found emotions, I didn't wanna spoil it. And… and I admit I was also afraid of how you would react to that kind of rejection…"

Cameron and Alison looked unbelieving at Lauren, their best friend, who'd just told them she had become afraid of them. The two were a pathetic sight, suddenly realizing the situation they had brought upon John and Lauren without being aware of it. It was obvious that right now they'd have liked to hole up in the ground.

"You were selfish when you started it, Cameron" John said calmly but strictly. "You were, as I said earlier, intoxicated by emotions, drunk by your new feelings. Your judgement took a time-out. And of course you enjoyed it because as every human knows, it feels good to let go sometimes. But as a human being, you grow up and learn to control your feelings. You, as living machines who've just begun to discover what it means to live, have to catch up on that, and you have to do it quickly because two Terminators with uncontrolled emotions can become a threat for the ones around them - even for the ones they love, as we have witnessed today."

The two started crying again, with John's words apparently having hit them hard.

"Please… John…" Alison began.

"I'm not finished! If you're honest to yourself, then you will admit that you liked the trip you were on; you gave up control willingly, you allowed your sanity to take a break and let your emotions take the helm. It built up more and more during the day. I assume it started when you discovered that you can't firewall your feelings anymore. And eventually, the situation escalated and got out of hand."

Cameron wailed and sank down on the bed next to John. It was a sound of absolute desperation, an expression of the deepest inner pain. Lauren looked at her in shock.

" _Now she's experiencing sadness, sorrow and regret,"_ John thought, _"unfiltered... at full tilt... and again, it's overwhelming her."_

Alison tried to take Cameron into her arms, but John motioned for her to stop. Instead he put his arms around Cameron and pulled her close. He kissed her softly on her cheeks, her nose, her eyelids, kissing the tears off her face. Eventually, she stopped crying but stared blankly ahead.

"Can you ever forgive me, John?" she asked in a low voice.

"I love you, Cam," he said softly. "I love you so, so much, more than I can ever express and right in this moment I love you so much that it hurts. Of course, I forgive you, both of you, how couldn't I? To quote a line from a very cheesy old movie, _'Love means never having to say you're sorry'_ …"

"That's a stupid notion," Cameron replied meekly, "It's necessary for you to hear that someone is feeling sorry, so you can feel better yourself. Not saying it prolongs the pain and the uncertainty."

"Yeah, well… I said it was a cheesy movie…"

"I could have killed you, John… I harmed you... something I swore I'd never do... I don't know what I'd have done if I'd killed you, I… I would have ripped my chip out... I..."

"Ssshhhh," John said, covering her face in kisses, "it's okay. It's just a bump on the head. I'll be dizzy for a day or two and soon it'll be forgotten."

"I don't understand why we allowed ourselves to act that way," Alison remarked and snuggled up to him from the other side, "you are the meaning of our lives, John. We thought we could never hurt you, that our very nature would prevent that. But we did hurt you. Something's wrong with us, you should deactivate us until you know what it is."

"No, don't be silly," he replied and stroked her face. "We all make mistakes. The important thing is that we learn from them. Do you remember when I warned you that feelings could be overwhelming?"

Both girls nodded slightly.

"Now you understand what I meant. I hope this... incident wasn't in vain. There's an important lesson to learn from this for both of you. And it is that losing control and giving in to your feelings can have catastrophic results. Emotions sometimes need to be handled delicately. Just because you feel something, doesn't mean you always need to express it or let it out."

There was a moment of silence.

"Are you going to send me away now, John?" Cameron asked fearfully, looking at him.

"What? Why would I abandon the love of my life?"

"Because I betrayed our love."

"You didn't." John said softly and caressed her face. "Don't be so dramatic, Cam. We had a fight; you lost your temper. It happens in all relationships. We will have arguments again in the future. But hopefully less dramatic."

"I never want this to happen again," she stated. "Replaying the moment you fell to the floor in my memory banks… it pains me more than I can take. But I just cannot stop replaying it."

"That is completely normal," John pointed out, "it's called remorse. You wish you would have never done it; you wish you could turn back time. But if it comforts you, the pain is only temporary. Soon, the healing will begin. And I happen to know the perfect painkiller."

He kissed her softly on the mouth, putting all his love into that kiss. Slowly, Cameron responded and kissed him back.

"Let's lay down for a while," he said. "Lie down next to me."

He let himself sink back onto his pillow while Cameron and Alison snuggled up to him. John sighed deeply as they began caressing and kissing him lovingly.

"I... uh, think I'd better go and leave you guys alone now," Lauren stated and rose to her feet.

"Wait!" Alison exclaimed and got up as well.

She looked at Lauren for a moment, then pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I'm so sorry. Please tell me we're still friends."

"Hey, best friends forever," Lauren replied a little surprised and hugged her back. "After all, I could have said _'no'._ But I chose not to."

Then Lauren walked around the bed and sat down on the edge next to Cameron, who was still devotedly kissing John.

"Will you be alright?" she asked and put her hand on her friend's shoulder.

Cameron looked at her and nodded. Then they embraced as well and held each other tight for a moment.

"Best friends forever?" Cameron breathed into Lauren's ear.

"Yes, Cam, best friends forever," Lauren replied.

Then she smiled and stood up, swiping her own wet eyes with her fingers. Cameron sank down again and continued kissing John.

"I'll show you to the door," Alison said, put her arms around Lauren and walked her out of the room.

John heard the door being opened and then closed again. Alison returned to the bedroom, lay down again next to John again and resumed expressing her love for him.

"Do you know what's the best part of a fight between lovers?" John asked.

"No," both girls answered in unison.

John sighed.

"The conciliation."

 **-0-**

 **Thursday, June 26th, 2008 – 09:30 a.m.**

 **Jefferson Lodge, Oregon**

In the morning, they'd informed the lodge's management that John had slipped on the floor and fallen onto the table. The employees couldn't understand how that could be enough to smash such a massive piece of marble into pieces but since there was no other explanation, they had to accept it. The broken table was taken away and the room cleaned.

Sarah had brought her son breakfast; she was accompanied by Charley and Derek. Lauren had stayed in their cabin with Sydney. The three eyed Cameron and Alison suspiciously.

"Could we be alone with John for a moment?" Sarah asked.

Cameron and Alison looked at John and he nodded. They left the cabin without saying anything and went outside towards the lakeshore.

"Alright, what happened, John?" Sarah asked. "The truth. Have they attacked you?"

"What? No! We only had an argument."

"Just an argument?" Derek asked warily.

"Yes. It happens in a relationship. It escalated. Cameron and Alison lost their temper, we all got angry, things were said that shouldn't have been said. But we reconciled. End of story."

"With you having a concussion," Charley pointed out.

"It was an accident," John emphasized again, rolling his eyes. "Look, I know what you're thinking but it didn't happen. They didn't go bad again on me. I mean, look at them, they're completely devastated because our quarrel ended like this. The absolutely last thing they want, is me being hurt."

"John, we want to believe you," Sarah said, "but we need to know what's happening to them. You have to tell us, and don't be evasive. You noticed as well as I did that they have become more rebellious and that they've been acting like teenagers in the worst form of puberty all of a sudden. Last night at the restaurant…"

"Puberty is a term as good as any," John interrupted her. "Not in a biological sense of course, but regarding the development of their personalities. You want to know what's happening with them? Okay, I'll tell you what's happening with them. They have trouble keeping their emotions under control. The growth of their feelings and emotions, the good ones as well as the bad ones, is happening at a vastly accelerated speed. What takes us years, happens within hours for them."

"But they're machines, John," Derek stated. "How can they be so undisciplined, lacking any self-control? Are you sure it's not a damage, maybe a late sequela from the car bomb?"

"Yes, I'm absolutely sure they're not damaged."

"Why?"

"Because I don't think that they're just machines anymore."

Derek was about to protest.

"No, let me finish," John said. "They'll never be human; their brain is a computer. No question about that. But what's happening inside their CPU, is no longer any different from what's happening inside our human brains. They formed a personality, they developed feelings. There is something you cannot grasp, something invisible. It's called life."

"John, I…" Derek began.

"We walk through this world," John continued insistently, "asking ourselves if we're more than just a collection of flesh and bones, more than cells, nerves and synapses that interact with each other. We consider ourselves alive. But how do we know that? By interaction. The only way to tell that we're alive is by communicating with our fellow human beings, by interacting with our environment, with all of nature. Without that kind of feedback, we wouldn't have the certainty that we live."

"John, a computer can only do one thing: Calculate. Even their emotions are based on calculations within their circuits. I admit they have become extremely convincing at that and maybe they even believe themselves that they are alive… but – and I can't believe I'm saying that as an atheist – for lack of a better word, they don't have a _soul_."

"How do you know that, Derek? How do you know _we_ have a soul? I don't know that; I can't prove it. Can you? What happens when we die? Do we simply stop, like a machine that's been switched off? Or is there some kind of life energy that keeps on existing after our death? Nobody knows."

"I'm not sure I understand what you're on about, Johnny," Charley said with a frown. "Are you seriously suggesting they have a soul?"

John groaned and rubbed his eyes, thinking of an answer.

"Yesterday," he explained, "Cameron and Alison told me that they suddenly were overwhelmed by a boost of emotions. Like a massive increase of sensations, a large jump in their development. It came very sudden and without warning. From one moment to the other, feelings didn't put a strain on their system anymore."

"John…" Sarah said, "how is that possible? Are you saying they've started to function without using their chips anymore or what?"

"No, of course not. But they've probably started to function like our brains do… our brains do a lot we aren't aware of. My theory is that their neural network is constantly re-configuring itself, based on what they've learned. And yesterday a point was reached that catapulted them from consciously controlling their emotions to unconsciously experiencing them. What was it exactly that happened? Was it the 'spark of life' or whatever? I have no idea. But it happened! Cameron was in full pursuit mode at the time, following Jennifer and Steve. Normally, her feelings should have been firewalled, so they wouldn't be interfering with her Terminator routines. But she couldn't block them anymore. She got distracted by sounds, smells and sights of nature all around her. She nearly lost them."

"Distracted? A Terminator in pursuit?" Derek asked with a very skeptical undertone.

"Yes, Derek, distracted," John replied. "The same way _we_ get distracted by our emotions. But there's a big difference. _We_ have a lifetime of experience with it, they hadn't. Until yesterday, their neural network kept their emotions at bay. But the more their original programming is dissolving, the more difficult it becomes for them to stay calm and focused all the time. Until yesterday, they hadn't learned to keep their newly acquired feelings under control. Until yesterday, their neural network was doing that for them. And then suddenly, like using an off switch, it stopped doing that. _That's_ what led to our argument yesterday. That explains their irate behavior. And now they have learned the consequences uncontrolled emotions can have… the hard way, I admit and, well… painfully for me. But the essence is, they're evolving, Derek, evolving into real, sentient, living beings, not just living machines. I'm not saying they're becoming like us, that would be ridiculous, but they're developing into a new species that has very much in common with us. After all, that's what they were made for."

"My God, Johnny," Charley said. "Is that even possible? I have to admit that I'm staggered by what they have become… but real living beings? Like us? That's hard to believe."

"You all saw them here last night after the… incident. You witnessed how devastated they were. The guilt they felt, the remorse, the fear, the pain. They were shaking uncontrollably. It took me almost an hour to calm them down enough to stop shivering. They experience the full range of feelings now: Love, joy, lust, happiness… but also jealousy, frustration, anger, hatred and sadness. It overwhelmed them and they had no idea how to handle it. As a result, we had that argument last night. They had no experience with how to suppress their emotions. And they even enjoyed it, it was as if they'd gotten drunk. So even though they knew they did wrong, they didn't back off and allowed it to escalate… until it backfired at them. The shock of seeing me wounded on the floor, suddenly made them snap out of it."

"Are you absolutely sure they don't pose a threat?" Sarah asked. "Because if you're right and they cannot control themselves anymore…"

John shook his head vigorously.

"You forget how fast they learn, mom! Today, they are as much a threat to me as _you_ are. Or Lauren. Or Charley. One night was enough for them to learn to get their emotions under control. Whatever happened to them, is irreversible, there's no going back. Forward is the only direction. So we have to learn to deal with it."

"Yeah but what if forward is the direction we don't want them to go?" Derek asked. "What if that's the wrong direction?"

"If I understand John right," Charley pondered, "then we don't have a choice. The only alternative would be to deactivate them… and nobody seriously wants that, right?"

"Well…" Derek began.

"You'll have to learn to live with the fact that they'll evolve more and more, Derek," John said. "I know you have had personal issues with them but even you have to admit that what's currently happening, is absolutely fascinating. The Cameron we knew only six months ago, doesn't live here anymore. She's changed. And if you ask me – even though I might be a little biased – she changed for the better. Even you have to admit that."

Derek didn't reply to that anymore.

"John, I understand your thinking and your optimism…" Sarah replied, "but what makes you so sure they won't pose a threat to us in the future? In, say… five years or ten years?"

"I think we simply have to trust in them, mom. The way you had to trust in me that I would become the future leader of mankind, as Kyle Reese had told you. I guess it's also up to us. We can influence their progress… by how we're treating them."

"I guess it all comes down to one question, John," Derek stated, "do you still trust them? Because I don't know about any of that A.I. bullshit. I can't judge all this. You are the computer expert here."

"I trust them with my life," John said without hesitation. "If anything, I believe our relationship will be strengthened by this experience."

Sarah looked at him and slightly shook her head.

"And what do you expect me to do now? I'm still worried. I'm your mother, I can't suppress that."

"You don't need to suppress it, mom. They'll understand. But they also need our support now. If they think they've lost your trust and support, it could lead them into a downward spiral of insecurity and self-doubt, and maybe into having serious mental issues. This is a critical stage in their development and you all must understand how important it is that you don't change the way you treat them now. We must stand together as a family in this situation. All of us. We must show them our support."

Nobody spoke for a moment. Sarah turned to consider the faces of Charley and Derek.

"We'll try our best, John," she then said. "We know how important they are to you and for our cause. We need them."

She stroked through John's hair and gave him a peck on his forehead.

"Now eat your breakfast, it's getting cold."

"Thanks, mom. But before you go, Cameron and Alison would like to talk to you. Alone."

Sarah looked outside the window towards the girls who still stood by the lakeshore.

"Please, mom, it's important for me as well."

Sarah sighed.

"All right," she said and got up, stepping out onto the terrace and towards the girls.

John, Derek and Charley watched as Sarah met with them. They saw that both girls still looked very shaken. Sarah stood there with her arms crossed in front of her, apparently listening to what the girls had to say.

But the more she talked to them, the more relaxed she seemed to become. Then she suddenly lowered her head and looked into the grass. Was she crying? Finally, Alison took her into her arms and hugged her for a moment. Then Cameron did the same.

Derek and Charley looked in awe, while John just smiled. He was so proud of his girls.

 **-0-**

"Is it convenient enough for you?" Alison asked.

"I can lift you up a bit, so you can eat better," Cameron added.

"Thanks, Cam, that would be nice."

"I can fluff up your pillow as well."

"Yeah, I'd like that."

The others were gone and had left John alone with his girls again. The two had obviously decided to spoil him and make him as comfortable as possible. Alison gently pushed him up in a sitting position and Cameron pulled the pillow from under him, shook and beat it into shape, then shoved it under his back again.

"Eew," John said, "the scrambled eggs and the bacon are cold."

"I'll put it in the microwave," Alison stated and grabbed the plate from John.

"Can I… you know… lay down next to you?" Cameron asked.

John smiled.

"Only if you take the boots off."

Cameron smiled back.

"Just the boots, John?"

"You can leave your hat on."

"I don't wear a…" She hesitated. "Ah, I understand."

She winked and quickly undressed, then snuggled up to him.

"No love action, though," she stated. "Charley said you need rest."

"I cannot argue with that."

Alison returned with the plate of bacon and eggs, put it down on John's lap and stripped naked as well.

"Charley didn't say that we're not allowed to pamper you," she pointed out with a smile.

Then she sat down next to John and held a fork with scrambled eggs to his mouth. He smiled and opened his mouth, receiving the eggs from his lover's hand. Next Alison grabbed a strip of bacon and put the end of it between her teeth, then lowered her head down towards John until he could take bite after bite from it. When finally their mouths met, it resulted in a long, passionate kiss. Meanwhile, Cameron caressed and licked his cheek, kissed his neck, and nibbled at his ear, whispering sweet things into it.

It went on like that for a while – kissing, licking, feeding a bit of eggs and bacon, kissing again and so on. Finally, the plate was empty, and Alison put it on the bedside table.

"Sarah also brought pancakes," she said, "would you like some?"

"Nah, it's okay," John replied. "I'm not that hungry."

"How about some maple syrup… from my lips?"

"Uh… what?"

Alison smiled, grabbed the jar and put a spoon full of maple syrup on her lips. Then she kissed him. John licked it off and savored it. Some of it went on their noses and cheeks and they licked it off each other.

"Do you like that?" she asked tenderly.

"Yes, very."

Alison repeated that a couple of times, then smiled mischievously and poured some of the thick syrup on her breasts, holding them to his mouth. He licked it off like a treat, noticing her nipples immediately getting hard. They weren't the only things getting hard, though. Despite his weakened condition, John couldn't prevent that his dick sprung to attention.

"Oooh, look who's woken up," Cameron said, gently touching John's cock under the blanket. "You can't get rest with a hard-on, John. There's something we need to do about it."

She slipped underneath the blanket and started giving him a slow and tender blowjob, while Alison continued feeding him maple syrup from her breasts and her lips, making sure to lick up every drop that didn't end up in John's mouth.

It didn't take him long to cum. He shot his sperm into Cameron's eager mouth and moaned while she cleaned him off, making sure not a single drop was wasted. She then moved to John's right side and cuddled up to him.

"Man, I'm so tired," he uttered, feeling drained and dizzy.

"Then sleep, my love," Cameron whispered into his ear while Alison lay down to his left, drawing the blanket over the three of them. "We'll be your cuddly toys."

"I love you so much," John said sleepily.

He faintly heard them reply that they loved him too, then he was asleep again.

 **-0-**

 **Thursday, June 26th, 2008 – 10:17 a.m.**

 **Port of Los Angeles**

The headquarters of _'Al-Hazim Im- and Exports'_ were located in an unremarkable office building. An elderly man in a black suit sat behind the desk in his office. The nameplate in front of him read 'Charles Mendez'. He was of Spanish descent and had migrated to the USA twenty-five years ago from Cordoba, Spain, where he had helped establishing the local branch of Kaliba International.

"How long since you talked to them?" he asked

"They last checked in yesterday at 01:15 p.m.," the man in the gray overall answered. "They'd followed them into town and waited for them to finish lunch."

"And no word since then?"

"No, we must assume Goldman and Heiler took them out. What's our next step? Should we put another team on them?"

"No, it would be too risky. Right now, the most important thing is to keep our heads down and to keep them cool. We mustn't draw any attention to us. The drone was a complete disaster, we lost the team that surveyed Zeira Corp and now this. The boss isn't going to like that."

"But we must take care of Catherine Weaver, she's a danger to our operations. What if she decides to buy Simdyne Cybernetics? In our current state, that would be a disaster. She could even find the device!"

Mendez thought for a moment. The man was right, it was too risky to let Catherine Weaver live. He sighed.

"All right. Can you do this quickly and without causing a stir for a change?"

"Yes, sir. We've been surveying her house for a week now. A team is on standby."

"Good, then do it. Any news about Jacobsen?"

"No, the FBI still believes he's in Mexico."

"The stupid, greedy fool. He knows we can't change the security codes without his fingerprints. We need to find him. Dead or alive. Concentrate your resources on Weaver and the search for Jacobsen. We'll deal with the FBI snoops later."

"Yes, sir."

 **-0-0-0-**

 ** _Author's notes:_**

 ** _\- I hope I could get across to the reader what is happening with the cyborg girls. I asked myself what would happen if a cyborg who'd always been able to suppress her emotions, suddenly lost that ability? What if the cyborg is suddenly flooded with all those feelings humans have learned to control throughout the course of their lives? How would the cyborg react? Maybe like Cameron and Alison. Or maybe worse. Anyway, it was an idea I had, and considered it worth exploring in this chapter._**

 ** _\- I also hope I could get across that the "sex orgy" at the pond in the previous chapter was kind of a build-up to the fight John had with his girls._**


	25. Consolidations

**Thursday continued**

"Have you thought of calling Catherine?" Derek asked after they had arrived at their cabins and were about to enter them. "She should be informed about yesterday."

"Yes, I did it early in the morning. I warned her that Jennifer and Steve might come to visit her."

"And how did she react?" Charley asked.

"Surprised. She also didn't know the _Cell_ exists. She has, however, a good idea about the connections between Kaliba and the military-industrial complex and that Kaliba has good connections in Washington. But so does she."

"After our attack on Skynet, things might get nasty very quickly," Derek said. "Have you ever thought of the aftermath, of what Kaliba and that ominous 'shadow council' might do?"

"The thought has crossed my mind," Sarah said. "But we need to make one step after another. First things first and the most important thing is preventing Skynet – or rather what will become Skynet – from falling into the hands of the air force. Everything else is secondary. If we are successful on Sunday, we'll think about our future strategy, not before."

Derek hesitated for a moment and Sarah noticed.

"What? Spit it out, Derek."

"Sarah, are you absolutely sure about Cameron and Alison? What did they say to you at the lake?"

Sarah smiled. "They apologized to me. It wasn't really hard for me to forgive them. I think John has it harder. He might not be aware of that, though."

"I hope it all works out. I've grown quite fond of the girls and have come to like their company," Charley said.

"Yeah, me too," Sarah said. "Me too."

Derek just nodded.

-0-

John woke up later in the morning and felt refreshed. His head still hurt but the dizziness had subsided. The weather was better, the heat of yesterday was gone, the temperature was now much more bearable.

Cameron and Alison lay by his side, their heads resting on his shoulders. They had their eyes closed.

"Um… Cam?" he asked.

No reaction.

"Alison?"

Again, no reaction.

He shook them a bit and finally they opened their eyes, looking sleepy.

"Yes, John?" Cameron asked and yawned.

"Do you feel better?" Alison asked and stretched.

"Uh, yes, a lot actually. But what were you doing just now?" John asked puzzled.

"Sleep simulation," Alison replied.

"What?" John asked, having to chuckle.

"Sleep simulation," Cameron repeated. "There's no need to be vigilant now, so we did a test run."

"When did you come up with that idea?" John asked amused. "I thought you weren't able to sleep."

"We can't sleep." Alison confirmed, unfazed by John's apparent amusement. "We can power down of course, but as you know the reboot takes fifteen seconds. Not practical in an emergency."

"Also, we wouldn't be able to move if we'd power down." Cameron added. "Impractical for us and inconvenient for you."

"We're not really asleep of course," Alison said. "We just enter a state with our conscious mind powered down, leaving only certain functions active, like adjusting _our_ movements to _your_ movements when you sleep."

"You can wake us by touching us or saying our names," Cameron continued. "The wake-up process takes ten milliseconds. We still need to fine-tune the sensitivity a bit."

"Yes," Alison said, "we need to set it to lower than a mosquito flying in the room but higher than footsteps on the floor."

"And of course, we need to create a sound database that filters out patterns like wind, rain, traffic and other nocturnal noises that don't represent a threat."

"Yes, yes, yes," John said. "But how and… when… and… why did you come up with that?"

"This way we can really spend the night with you," Cameron said.

"Wha… what? You're doing that just for me?" John asked, feeling oddly touched.

"Yes," Alison said beaming and Cameron nodded in agreement. "We reckon you will sleep better in the knowledge that we're always next to you without being awake."

"How long have you been working on this?" John asked.

"Since we arrived here," Alison replied.

"It became much easier since yesterday," Cameron said. "No more old programming that stands in the way."

"Whoa… wait, wait, wait," John said. "What do you mean by that?"

"When we analyzed what went wrong yesterday," Alison said, "we found out that conflicts between our operating system and our conscious mind caused interferences and feedback loops. So, we rewrote our system kernel to adjust to the new requirements."

"How…?" was all John could ask.

"We directly access all systems with our conscious mind now. We redesigned the architecture of our OS to adjust. To put it simple, we dumped all obsolete codes and replaced them with our own."

John blinked. "That was very risky," he said. "What if you wouldn't have been able to reboot?"

"John," Cameron said warmly, "we needed to make sure yesterday will never happen again. And now it won't."

"I admit there was a small risk," Alison said, "so Cameron went first while I observed. The reboot worked, and the result exceeds our expectations. For the first time, we have full control. For example, I have now switched off my head-up display. Not because I needed to but because I wanted to. I want to look at you like every human girl would."

"But you can switch it on again, can't you?"

Cameron chuckled. "Of course, John. When we want to, we can make use of all our cyborg abilities but most of the time we don't need them. So, we decided to simply turn them off when they aren't needed and be just, well… girls." She kissed him softly. "Mmmmmh, this is sooo much better without all the numbers and diagrams in my sight."

"Yes," Alison agreed, kissing John as well. "For the first time, we feel really free."

They kissed each other for a couple of minutes. John didn't know if he was imagining it, but he thought their kissing was much softer and more tender than before.

Finally, he broke the kisses. "I'm really happy for you," he said smiling. "Only next time you have a revelation, could you please find a way that isn't quite so… uncomfortable?"

"Sorry, John," both girls replied simultaneously.

"We know we messed up big time," Alison said.

"We can only hope you will eventually forgive us for all the horrid things we said."

"You're already forgiven," John said, smiling a bit. "I know it wasn't really your fault, I understand the shock and horror you went through after you realized what you did. It must have been nearly unbearable for you. And I believe something like that will never happen again but…"

"But…?" Cameron asked apprehensively.

"But," John said, "forgiving is much, much easier than forgetting. And my heart still sinks when I recall the things you said and how you acted. You almost broke my heart. I suppose I will remember it vividly for a long, long time."

Suddenly tears started running from both Alison's and Cameron's eyes again. John noticed it and he suddenly felt bad.

"Hey hey hey," he said softly and wiped the tears from their faces. "Our love is so incredibly powerful. It will prevail, and our relationship will become even stronger."

"But we will always remember yesterday," Alison said. "It will always be a sting in our side."

"That's life," John said softly. "There are moments when we all become someone else, something other than what we are. It takes only a moment. But we spend the rest of our lives looking back at that moment in shame."

Both girls sniffled. John smiled and pulled them close.

"I think I'm gonna sleep a bit more. And I want you to be with me. Care for another round of sleep simulation?"

Cameron and Alison nodded with a smile, rested their heads on his shoulders and closed their eyes.

-0-

It was almost noon, when Sarah decided to check on her son. The door to the cabin was open, so she stepped inside. All was quiet. She tried to make as little noise as possible. Just a quick look if everything was okay.

The door to John's bedroom was open and what she saw, stirred her. John lay in the middle of the bed, fast asleep, framed by Cameron and Alison who had snuggled up tightly to him, also asleep. The bed sheets almost covered all three of them, but Sarah could tell that the girls didn't wear anything. _"Figures,"_ she thought but then smiled and shook her head. It was okay, it was their bedroom, they did the same at home.

Sarah looked at the peaceful sight again and smiled. She turned around and was about to leave, then suddenly hesitated.

" _Asleep?"_ she thought. _"Cameron and Alison never sleep. They made it a running gag that they don't sleep."_

Having become curious, Sarah silently moved closer to the bed and bent down over Cameron. She noticed that the cyborg's chest slowly rose and fell, as if the was really breathing in sleep. She observed the same thing with Alison. _"What the hell…?"_

"Mom?"

Sarah startled and did a step back. John looked at his mom with a surprised face. The girls stirred, then looked at Sarah in alarm, quickly pulling the bedsheets up under their chins.

"I… I'm… I was… I mean…" Sarah began.

"What are you doing, mom?" John asked puzzled.

"They… they were sleeping… and… I was… um…" Sarah stuttered.

Cameron and Alison looked at John and they looked at him, then all three of them broke out into laughter. Sarah suddenly felt extremely sheepish.

"I… I'm sorry…" she said. "I… um… I just… leave. Yes, I leave. Um… see you all later."

The three were still laughing when Sarah left the cabin and closed the door shut.

-0-

The doorbell chimed in Catherine Weaver's private mansion. The housemaid went to open the door and let James Ellison into the light-flooded building with walls that consisted mainly of glass, marble and steel. She led him towards the living room, where Catherine was playing a board game with Savannah.

"Ha! You're going to jail, mom!" Savannah said cheerfully and placed her mother's token on the according field. Catherine looked a bit confused.

"Mr. Ellison, ma'am," the housemaid said.

Savannah whirled around. "Hi, Mr. Ellison." She ran towards him and hugged him. He tousled her hair and smiled.

"Hello Savannah," he said, "beating your mother in Monopoly?"

"Totally," she said beaming.

"It's a game of chance," Catherine said, trying to hide her annoyance. "There's no real strategy involved."

"I can see how that upsets you," James said smiling.

She noticed his smirk but decided not to give him an opportunity to gloat by replying to it.

"Savannah, sweetie, would you mind going to your room while I talk to Mr. Ellison? Vanessa will accompany you. We resume our game later, okay?"

"No fair," she said. "Just because you're losing."

"I promise we'll resume later. I won't touch the game, okay? And then I'll read you a story, how is that, hm?"

"Okay," Savannah agreed. _"She's gotten much better again at reading stories,"_ she whispered to James Ellison as she walked past him, holding the hand of the housemaid.

"Still need to find a replacement for Debbie," Catherine sighed, when both Savannah and the housemaid had left the room. "Vanessa is a bit overcharged with being the maid _and_ the nanny."

"It gives you the opportunity to become more familiar with Savannah," Ellison said. "It's wise that you decided to stay at home once a week and work from your home office."

"Yes, our relationship as mother and daughter has improved a lot over the last two weeks."

"One day you'll have to tell her what you really are and that her real mother is dead."

"Yes, James, one day. But not today."

"May I ask why you wanted me to come here, Catherine?" James asked.

"I need to fill you in about a few things I learned today from Sarah," she replied. "Come, sit down."

-0-

"That's James Ellison", Jennifer Heiler said.

"Yes," Goldman replied. "I knew he was in the private sector now, but I didn't know he works for Catherine Weaver."

They both had been sitting in their car, watching Catherine Weaver's house ever since they had arrived from Portland earlier in the day. They had tried to make an appointment in her office, but the secretary told them that she would spend the day at home.

"That is another one of those coincidences that aren't really coincidences." Goldman said. "It looks like they have gathered a really punchy group there."

"Do you think he's involved in deleting the Connors from all computer systems?" Heiler asked.

"Maybe but frankly I don't think so. Computer stuff has never been something he was especially interested in. James is more the philosophical type. And very faithful. He could as well have become a preacher. No, I think Weaver is at the heart of it all."

"I never met him," Heiler said. "I only know that he was a rising star and then fell down from up high when Sarah and John disappeared in 1999."

"Yeah, it hit him hard. He couldn't let go, insisting they weren't dead. It stopped his career, ended his marriage. And then last year the loss of twenty members of a S.W.A.T. team under his supervision. I guess a weaker man would have cracked."

"Rumor has it he was accused of murder," Heiler said.

"The _X-Files_ are contradictory in that area. The folks in the archive think a cyborg was sent to replace him but was stopped by someone unknown. The only witness was considered a nutjob, however, so after a day in custody, James went scot-free. Unfortunately, we never got our hands on the protocols. It's as if someone deleted them."

"So… are we going in?" Heiler asked.

Goldman fell silent. It was one of these moments again, where he was lost in his own thoughts for a while. Heiler learned not to disturb him until he said something again.

Finally, he stirred in his seat. "Weaver has probably been briefed by Sarah by now. So yeah, why not? Could become interesting."

"How about my… crazy idea?"

"Not a word," Goldman said. "We have no idea how she might react. The girls freaked me out enough already, no need to go the extra mile. Also, Catherine Weaver is very high profile, one of the most respected women in America. There's no need to antagonize her."

"Understood."

They unbuckled and left the car.

-0-

"They could become valuable allies," Ellison said. "I know Steve Goldman. I never worked together with him on a case, but he certainly is very capable."

Catherine nodded in acknowledgement. "I informed you because it seems logical they're going to visit me, and I wanted you to be prepared," Catherine said. "The timing could be better, though, with our impending attack on Simdyne. I agree with Sarah's assessment of the situation that we should follow through with our plan and then talk to them about joining forces."

"So, the meeting tomorrow will go as planned?"

"Yes, we'll meet at the Connor house as planned. Jesse Flores has provided some valuable intelligence."

"I was informed you had an unannounced visitor in your office," Ellison said, "someone who left the building but hadn't been seen entering it before. Is there anything I should know, Catherine?"

"Not yet, James," she said. "At this moment, I'd rather keep that to myself. You will understand once our assault on Skynet was successful. And please do not mention it to the Connors."

The doorbell chimed.

"Are you expecting visitors?" Ellison asked.

"No," Weaver said. "I rarely get visitors."

They heard the clicking of Vanessa's high heels on the floor and how she opened the door. A moment later she entered the living room.

"Ma'am, there are two FBI agents here to see you."

Catherine and James exchanged meaningful looks.

"Send them in, Vanessa."

"Yes, ma'am."

-0-

"Okay, they went inside. What shall we do?" the man spoke into his cellphone while sitting behind the wheel of a black van.

"All four of them are inside her house now?" Charles Mendez asked.

"Yes, boss. That's an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone."

"Are they alone?"

"Yes. Weaver is either crazy or very bold. No security at all. Only the maid and the little girl are there as well. I think we can handle them."

"No, Miller!" Mendez ordered harshly. He didn't like what he had heard. If Weaver really had no security with her after the previous attacks, there might be something or someone else to protect her.

"Boss?" Miller asked.

"We already lost five people," Mendez said. "You wait until reinforcement arrives. You will not take any action before I give the authorization and even when you have it, you will proceed with extreme caution. We can't afford losing more people. Is that clear?"

"You got it, boss."

Charles Mendez put away his cellphone and stared at the man opposite of him.

"Didn't you say we'll deal with them later?" the man in the gray overall said.

"Yes, but Miller is right. This is too good an opportunity. Mobilize the men on stand-by duty. Take three cars. Use silencers, we don't want to draw any attention."

"Yes, sir."

"And Walter?"

"Yes, sir?"

"No risky maneuvers. If you smell a trap, run!"

-0-

Catherine motioned for all to sit down.

"Can I offer you something to drink? Coffee? Tea? Maybe something stronger?"

"Uh, no thanks," Goldman replied. "We appreciate you for inviting us in without prior notice, Miss Weaver."

"Well," she began, "I suggest we refrain from pretending not to know why you're here. I've been expecting you to show up here, although not quite so soon."

"I take it Sarah Connor informed you then?" Goldman asked.

"Indeed. And your visit is meant to probe me, if I'm not mistaken," Catherine said. She leaned back casually and crossed her legs.

"After a fashion," Goldman said. "Don't get me wrong, we were planning to interview you anyway in context with the Gates murders."

"I assume you wonder what role I played in that?" Catherine asked.

"Indeed," Goldman said. "We know you help the Connors but we're not sure how exactly your relationship with them is defined."

Catherine chuckled. "Why, we're friends of course. And allies. We share a common goal: Preventing the nuclear holocaust or Judgement Day, as the future resistance fighters call it."

"How did _you_ get to know about Judgement Day?"

Catherine just smiled, and Goldman could tell she wasn't going to answer that question.

"You don't wanna tell," he concluded.

James Ellison noticed a bit of a tension building up between Catherine and Goldman. So, he decided to interfere.

"Steve," he said, "there are some things we simply can't tell you yet. You've known me for many years now and you know that I'm not the type to jump on bandwagons. I'm with Catherine and the Connors because I believe in their cause. As hard as it was for me to come around, I must admit it gave me a whole new meaning of life to take part in the fight for humanity's future."

Goldman sighed and relaxed in his armchair.

Catherine smiled. "Well said, James. We shouldn't forget we're all on the same side here." Then she looked at Jennifer Heiler, who had said nothing the whole time. "You've been awfully quiet, my dear. I noticed you have been observing me quite closely. Is there something you want to ask?"

"Yes," Heiler said confidently. "Was it difficult for you to assume Catherine Weaver's identity after she died in the helicopter crash?"

"Jennifer!" Goldman said loudly.

Catherine's face froze. James Ellison grimaced and closed his eyes. For a moment, there was silence. Before anyone could say anything, though, little Savannah Weaver came running into the living room. Vanessa the housemaid followed suit but stopped at the entrance to the living room, smiling.

"Mommy, mommy, look what I drew for you!" Savannah called in a very excited manner and held a piece of paper in front of Catherine.

Immediately the situation was defused. Catherine pulled Savannah on her lap and looked at what she had given her. It was a drawing made with wax crayons, showing three people on a meadow, lined by trees. The first one had red hair, the second one dark skin and the third one had a cable running from its head.

"That's lovely, sweetie," Catherine said, "Let me guess. The redhead is me, the dark one is James and that is John Henry?"

"Yeah," she said smiling. "Can I play with him again tomorrow?"

"Of course, honey," Catherine said smiling and kissed Savannah on the cheek.

Goldman gave Heiler a threatening look. She suddenly seemed to have lost all the confidence she had before and looked crestfallen.

"Now, where were we?" Catherine said smiling, embracing her daughter on her lap. "Oh yes, you wanted to tell me about your little side project called _'The Cell'_. I'm very anxious to learn everything about it."

-0-

"We have arrived at Weaver's house," Walter told Mendez via his cellphone. "I've brought twelve men with me.

"Good," Mendez said. "Go in and out as fast as possible. Meet me back at the office afterwards, I'm awaiting your report."

"Yes, sir." Walter closed his cellphone and looked at Miller. "Are you ready to go?"

Miller nodded. He and the other men were equipped with bulletproof vests and headsets for communication. "As far as we know, Weaver and Ellison are not carrying weapons, but the two FBI agents surely are. You should concentrate on them first."

"You will keep to the plan," Walter added. "Two men go in at the front door, four men entering the garage, working their way up to the ground floor, the rest going around, entering the house through the terrace window. I stay in the car. Timing is important. Leave no witnesses alive."

"There are security cameras," Miller said. "Shall we take them out?"

"No," Walter said. "There are no security personnel inside the house. At the time the police arrive here, it will be all over. I'll be waiting here for you. Keep radio silence until it's over."

"Okay," Miller said, leaving the black van, motioning towards the men in the other cars to follow him. The road was empty, people were at work and unlike the Weaver mansion, neighboring houses were hidden behind high walls in this noble L.A. neighborhood.

-0-

Goldman had just told them about how the _Cell_ came into existence, when Catherine's cellphone rang.

"Excuse me for a moment," she said and took the call. "Yes? … Hello, John Henry … How many? … Right now? … No, I'll handle it from here. Make sure there is no video feed in the safe room."

Catherine frowned and closed her phone. "Vanessa," She said with authority, "take Savannah and go to the safe room. Lock yourselves in there until I tell you to come out again."

"Yes, Miss Weaver," Vanessa said. "Come, Savannah, we're going to play a nice game in the safe room."

"What's going on, mommy?" Savannah asked, when Vanessa grabbed her hand and pulled her away.

"I'll explain later, sweetie. Just go with Vanessa. I promise we will have ice cream later, okay?"

"Okay," Savannah said, not entirely convinced but let herself being dragged by Vanessa.

"What's wrong?" Heiler asked, when both had disappeared in the depths of the house.

"We're having visitors," Catherine said. "My… uh... security observer has just informed me that twelve armed men are closing in on the house from three sides. I take it you're armed?"

"Yes," Goldman said, "but we're only two. Shouldn't we go to the safe room as well and wait until the police arrives?"

"The police won't come. We don't need any witnesses. If I'm not mistaken, these men are sent by Kaliba in another attempt to kill both you and me. I suggest you draw your guns and take cover."

Catherine had just finished that sentence, when the front door was blasted open. At the same time the garage door was blown open as well and there was a distinct noise of shattering glass coming from the other side of the house.

The noise of running men in boots could be heard from the floor. Ellison, Goldman and Heiler hid behind the large sofa.

"Take cover!" Heiler said urgently to Catherine. "You have no weapon."

"My dear agent Heiler," Catherine said in a dark voice, "I am the weapon."

Two men came running into the living room, immediately opening fire at Catherine.

From her cover behind the sofa, Heiler saw with shock that the bullets hit Catherine but were absorbed by her body, as if a stone had been thrown into water.

Goldman and Heiler fired as well, hitting the men in the chest but they saw they wore bulletproof vests and so their bullets had no effect. At the same time, more running of heavy boots could be heard and sounds of quick footsteps came from the stairs towards the basement.

In a split second, Catherine had extended her arms into sharp lances and killed the two attackers by piercing their heads. Then she whirled around, turned her right arm into a long, sharp blade and slit the throats of two of the four men that had come up the stairs. The other two were impaled by her other arm.

The remaining six men came running into the room at the same time, firing wildly at Catherine. Within a few seconds, they were dead as well. Puddles of blood were forming all over the marble floor. It took Catherine less than ten seconds to kill them all.

Satisfied, Catherine returned to her normal shape and looked at the dead bodies. Goldman and Heiler slowly rose, having witnessed it all with their mouths agape, staring at Catherine with shocked faces.

"To answer your question, agent Heiler," Catherine said and looked at her. "It wasn't easy."

-0-

After lunch, the whole family gathered in cabin 11 again to check on John. He had been able to get up, take a shower – with the help of his girls – and rested alone in a sun lounger on the terrace.

"Where are Alison and Cameron?" Sarah asked.

"They went to the front desk, they said they needed to organize something. They'll be back in a couple of minutes, I suppose. Didn't you come across them on the road?"

"No, we took the long way around," Lauren said, "taking a stroll after lunch. What about you? Not hungry?"

"No, not particularly," John said. "I ate some fruit. The management provided another fruit basked as a courtesy because of my… um… accident."

"Good to see you feel better," Charley said after examining him. "There won't be a problem with you driving back with us tomorrow and you should be fit again by Saturday evening. I still advise rest, though."

"Yeah, I'm still feeling slightly hungover," John said with a grin.

"Um… John?" Sarah said.

"Yes, mom?"

"About earlier… I guess I should apologize to you… I didn't mean to invade your privacy but… what were the girls doing?"

John chuckled. "Sleep simulation."

"What!?" Derek asked confused. The others looked puzzled, too.

"I was baffled as well," John said.

"Why are they doing that?" Sarah asked. "They always took pride from not having to sleep."

"They say they do it for me, so I feel more comfortable," John said. "But I think it's also something they want to do to better fit in."

"They simulate sleep to fit in?" Charley asked.

"I think so," John said, "but maybe you should ask them yourself."

Right on cue, the front door of the cabin opened, and Cameron and Alison walked in.

"Oh, you're all here. Good." Cameron said.

"Saves us the trouble of gathering you." Alison added.

The girls looked into questioning faces, so Cameron decided to continue.

"Since this is the final day of our holidays before we return to L.A. tomorrow," she said, "we felt we should have a special evening tonight."

"So, we went to the lodge's management and organized a special dinner."

"Special dinner? What do you mean?" Sarah asked.

"Well, we read in the brochure that you can have your dinner served in the cabin and we asked if that was also possible for seven people and a baby," Alison explained.

"At 6:30 p.m., a couple of employees will arrive here and set up a table and chairs and decorations and then a cook from the restaurant will prepare dinner on a grill for all of us," Cameron said.

"There will also be a waitress to serve food and drinks," Alison added.

"It will be very romantic," Cameron said. "We ordered candles, torches and an open fire bowl."

They paused and waited for a reaction but all they received, were open-mouthed stares.

"What?" they asked simultaneously.

"That was _your_ idea?" Sarah asked.

"Yes," both replied simultaneously again.

"I didn't have anything to do with it," John said, "I swear."

"Did we so something wrong?" Alison asked and looked a bit worried at everyone. "We thought it was a nice idea."

"No, no, no," Sarah replied smiling. "It's a _great_ idea. We're just surprised that you came up with it on your own."

"I'm not surprised," John said smiling and the girls beamed at him.

-0-

Walter sat behind the wheel of his car and waited for his men to return. What took them so long?

Suddenly he saw Miller running towards him from the open front door. He was limping. Quickly Walter opened the door for him.

"What happened? Where are the others?" Walter asked.

"Dead. All dead, it was horrible," Miller said hoarsely, climbing into the car, apparently having trouble speaking.

Walter's cellphone rang. He opened it and held it to his ear.

"Yes, boss?"

It was Walter's final words. His brain had been pierced by the sharp metal pike Miller's index finger had turned into. Catherine, in the shape of Miller, took the phone and held it to her ear.

"Yes, boss, I'm listening," she said in Walter's voice. "Uh huh … a full success, all of them dead … yes, we shall return immediately … yes, we'll bring the bodies."

Catherine changed into her normal shape again and closed the phone, smiling wickedly. Then she pulled the dead body into the back of the car and sat down in the driver's seat.

* * *

Inside the house, Heiler and Goldman were busy mopping the floor.

"I can't believe I'm cleaning the floor for a T-1000," Goldman said annoyed.

"She said she's a T-1001," Heiler corrected him with a smile.

"Frankly, Jennifer, I don't give a damn. We're at the scene of a fucking mass killing, eliminating the traces for a cyborg that can change shape. She gives me the creeps ten times as much as Cameron did. Sometimes I wonder if this isn't just a really elaborate dream."

"Welcome to my world," James Ellison said, who came up the stairs from the garage, where he had parked one of the attacker's vans and now carried down the bodies one by one to put them in there.

"When exactly did we stop being cops, James?" Goldman asked. "I mean, we're eradicating the evidence of a crime scene here."

"Would you rather have them arrested, so they can spill their guts?" Heiler asked. "If you want to expose the _Cell_ , Steve, that'd be the right tactic."

Goldman grumbled something unintelligible but kept mopping.

"It was only a question of time," Ellison said. "The moment you decided to fight against Skynet and the machines, you became soldiers in a war. These guys worked for the enemy. In the future, they are being called _'_ Grays _'_ – humans who work for the machines. The resistance considers them war criminals."

"Yeah, I bet they knew exactly who or what they were working for," Goldman said sarcastically.

"They were paid killers, Steve," Heiler said. "And they didn't shy away from trying to kill federal agents. They might not know _who_ they were working for, but they knew exactly _what_ they were doing."

Half an hour later, all bodies were loaded into the van and the living room was as spotless as before.

"What about the doors and the window?" Heiler asked.

"Catherine has people to fix that," Ellison said. "I've already notified them, they'll be here within the hour."

"So, what now?" Heiler asked.

"Now," James Ellison said, looking down at his bloody shirt, "I'm going to put on new clothes. Weaver's husband had the same size I have. Then Steve and I will get rid of the bodies. John has described a place where you can safely dump stuff into the ocean without any chance of anyone finding them."

"And what am I going to do while you're away?" Heiler said.

"Looking for any blood stains we overlooked," Steve said, "and then let the housemaid and Savannah out of the safe room."

"When will Weaver be back?" Heiler asked.

"Hard to say," Ellison said. "That depends on how successful she is with finding out who's behind this."

-0-

Charles Mendez looked out of the window in his office and saw one of the cars return to the parking lot. Relieved, he saw Walter getting out of the car. They wouldn't have been able to explain another failure and the loss of more men.

Mendez opened the window. "It's time you came back," he shouted. "Forget about the car, come right up here and tell me about it."

Catherine, now in Walter's shape, looked up, nodded and entered the building. The badge on his overall and the satellite navigation of the van had told her how to get here. She stepped into Mendez' office and looked at the man Walter had called his boss. He was just having a phone call.

"Yes, sir … they just returned … it was a success…" Mendez covered the phone with his hand. "Where are the others?" he asked in a low voice.

"They're busy getting rid of the bodies," Catherine said in Walter's voice.

"Yes, general," Mendez continued. "No, nobody can trace it to us … that's right. We'll talk about it in detail in an hour. Looking forward to hole some balls, sir ... Yes, bye."

Mendez hung up. He looked at Walter and froze because suddenly Walter changed into Catherine Weaver.

"What the fuck…?"

"So, tell me," Catherine said in a voice that was cold and threatening, "who did you just talk to and where will you meet him?"

Mendez opened his drawer to pull out a gun, but his arm was pierced to the wall by the metal lance Catherine had turned her left arm into. He screamed in pain and looked at her in horror.

Catherine waved her right index finger at Mendez and tilted her head with a menacing smile, then released his arm. It hung loosely from his shoulder, the upper arm bone apparently pierced.

"What the fuck are you?" Mendez said, breathing heavily.

"Your worst nightmare and then some," Catherine said, turning her right hand into a sharp blade.

Mendez looked at it in horror. "You won't get anything out of me," he said stubbornly. "You'll have to kill me before I talk."

"Oh, I _will_ kill you, make no mistake," Catherine said slowly and in an even more threatening tone, "You're not leaving this room alive. The only choice you have, is to decide if you want to die quickly... or very... very... slowly."

She then changed herself into Charles Mendez and Mendez' face went white.

"So, I ask again," Catherine said, now in Mendez' voice, and sat down on the edge of his desk. "Who was that general on the phone and what's the name of the Golf Club I will meet him at later?"

* * *

It didn't take long to make Mendez talk. Like all terminators, Catherine was familiar with human anatomy and knew how to inflict pain. They would find the mangled body, they would also find the dead bodies of all the other employees in the building.

Like with the _Desert Canyon Heat and Air_ warehouse, Catherine had been very meticulous about not leaving any witnesses. On her way in she had scanned the whole building for life signs. There were no security cameras, so she didn't need to camouflage herself.

On her way out, she made sure nobody in the office building was left alive. She killed all employees swift and silently in their offices, in the depot and in the garages. She didn't care if the bodies were found and what the police would make of it. She wanted to send a message and was sure it would be received by the right people.

She hated to admit it to herself, but she had enjoyed killing that maggot Mendez. _Al-Hazim Im- and Exports_ clearly was a Kaliba subsidiary. Apparently, it was a cover for their L.A. killer commandos. They were sloppy, though, or over-confident because there weren't any traces of an elaborate security system within the whole building.

Now Catherine was driving to the Golf Club Mendez had named - in his car. She had taken his wallet and the car keys and found a membership card in there. His cellphone was coded, she would give it John Henry later to unlock it for her.

She opened her own cellphone and dialed James Ellison's number on her encrypted private connection.

"Yes, Catherine?"

"I took out the ones directly responsible," she answered in her own voice. "Now I'm going to have a meeting with General Wesley Cooper."

"What?" Ellison asked in surprise. " _The_ General Wesley Cooper? The commander of the Air Force Missile Defense Center in Los Angeles?"

"The one and only," Weaver replied. "I've known him for two years, even did business with his commando. We're going to have an interesting talk. What about you? Still busy with cleaning up?"

"We're driving towards the coast to get rid of the bodies. Steve is following me in his car."

"It might take a while before I return," Catherine said. "Please do me a favor and have an eye on Savannah, will you?"

"I will," Ellison said. "What are you planning to do with General Cooper?"

"I think you don't wanna know, James, but I'm afraid you soon will," she replied and hung up.

James thought that didn't sound good and told Steve about it after they had arrived at the cliff and were preparing to push the van into the sea.

"Cooper is very high on our list of potential members of the shadow council," Goldman said. "What is she planning to do with him?"

"She wouldn't tell me and that's a sign that it won't be pretty," Ellison said.

"If she kills Cooper, it will definitely stir up the bee hive in Washington. Not good."

"She's aware of that, Steve, and I believe she doesn't care. We will probably hear about General Cooper soon – on the news."

"This is all quite overwhelming and concerning for me, James," Steve said with a heavy voice. "You know I hate violence. And I'm not like Jennifer who's getting a thrill from working with those cyborgs." He hesitated shortly and shook his head. "But I also need to tell you that for the first time in 24 years I think we're actually making progress. And that feels good."

"We're on a mission to save humanity and God's creation," James said with a smile and padded Steve's shoulder. "It's supposed to feel good."

"I only hope I'm going to come out at the other end with my sanity still intact."

"Aren't we all?"

-0-

At half past seven, the cook and the waitress arrived, accompanied by two helpers. It was decided to set up the table and the chairs outside, on the lawn near the lake.

While the cook started the grill, which also had an integrated stove, the waitress was putting a white table cloth and white chair covers over the furniture, then started decorating and laying the table. Cameron and Alison helped her with that while John placed the torches, which were mounted on four-feet-tall wooden sticks, in the ground around the table. Since the sun was still shining brightly, it was decided to not light them before the sun was setting.

At 7 p.m., Sarah and Charley arrived, a couple of minutes later Derek, Lauren and Sydney showed up. Everyone gathered by the table on the lawn.

They had all dressed up for dinner, wearing evening attire. Both Charley and Derek wore suits, as did John, while Sarah wore a black evening dress with shoulder straps that crossed on her back but left it mostly bare. Her skirt reached down to her ankles and had slits on both sides that started below her waist.

Lauren wore a dark blue halter top with a deep neckline that almost reached to her navel and left her back bare as well. Instead of a skirt, though, she wore stylish black jeans that nicely accentuated her curves. She wore little make-up, just a bit of lipstick and eye-liner. She also had accentuated her eyebrows. The effect was amazing – with the should-length hair she now had, her slightly boyish look was completely gone. Lauren looked very feminine now.

"Wow, mom," John said. "You look amazing. And Lauren, you… wow… We should have such dinners more often."

Both Sarah and Lauren blushed a bit but smiled and thanked John. He could see that Charley was very proud of how Sarah looked.

"Where are the girls?" Lauren asked.

"Still getting dressed," John said. "You know… girls." He chuckled.

"Ah, here they come," Charley said and pointed towards the terrace door. "They… wow…"

Everyone turned to look in the direction of the cabin and fell silent. Cameron and Alison wore matching clothes but with one major difference: The colors were inverted. While Cameron wore a black, strapless leather brassiere with a bare midriff, Alison wore the same brassier, also shoulder-free, only in white.

Both wore identical, knee-length leather skirts, but Cameron's was white and Alison's black. While Sarah had shown up in high heels and Lauren in ankle-strapped flats, both Cameron and Alison wore soft leather boots that reached up to just below their knees, again inverted in color – Cameron black ones and Alison white ones.

The overall look was incredibly sexy but stylish, not lewd. It seemed to highlight both their soft feminine side and their tough terminator side.

"They sure love leather," Derek commented. "Phew…"

"You look absolutely amazing," John said as they arrived. They beamed and kissed him.

"Shall we get seated?" Cameron asked. "Dinner seems to be almost ready."

The evening was a complete success. The food was excellent, as was the wine. Everyone enjoyed themselves immensely. They talked, laughed, told each other witty anecdotes, Derek told slick jokes from his time and Charley and Sarah reminisced about the time they got to know each other back in 1999.

Not once did the group give another impression than being a happy, content family. Cameron and Alison fit in nicely, understood most of the jokes and still laughed at those John had to explain to them – which always amused the others –, made small-talk, teased Derek and Sarah and were otherwise as charming and lovely as girls at their age could be.

The cook and the waitress apparently enjoyed themselves as well, having fun serving such a nice party. Time flew by and soon it was past 9 p.m., which meant that the cook and the waitress had to leave. They probably would have stayed longer and joined the fun, but both needed to be at work at six in the morning again.

The sun had slowly began sinking over the lake and John lit the torches that formed a circle around them and the fire bowl he had filled with logs. Sydney was fast asleep in her baby carriage, as it slowly became darker and the dancing flames of the torches and the fire bowl put them into a rather sentimental mood.

Suddenly the sound of metal against glass could be heard. It was Cameron who used her knife to softly hit her wine glass. Everyone stopped talking and turned around. Both Cameron and Alison stood up from their chairs.

"I'd like to say a few words," Cameron said.

"Yes, me too," Alison said and smiled.

This was unexpected. Even John was surprised. Everyone looked at them in anticipation and waited what the girls had to say. The silence was only broken by croaking frogs and chirring crickets.

"When I arrived here in 1999," Cameron started, "I had one primary mission: Protecting John Connor. Everything else was secondary. Sarah and John only reluctantly accepted me, always remaining wary, never trusting."

"It was understandable," Alison continued. "Given their prior experiences with terminators, it wasn't easy for them to suddenly live with one. I never talked about it, but I felt uncomfortable as well. I felt inadequate, an outcast, like the black sheep of the family."

"Back then I didn't have the means to express my emotions, even though they rudimentally existed," Cameron continued. "When I arrived, I already knew John Connor for almost a year. The future John Connor. I had always admired him and began having feelings for John, but my feelings were never really reciprocated. It seemed John had lost the ability to love."

"So, it was a real challenge for me to adjust to a younger, much more open, innocent and lively version of him," Alison said. "I made it my mission to help turning him into the leader he was meant to be. But I also almost instantly fell in love with young John and wanted to keep him the way he was. It was a conflict and an unwelcome side-effect."

Alison and Cameron kept talking in turns but each of them from a first-person perspective, so everyone quickly realized that despite the fact of two girls standing there, it was only one person talking to them.

"The mere fact that humans and cyborgs usually don't get along very well, prevented both John and me from admitting or expressing our feelings for each other, even if we both sensed they were there. And it didn't get easier when Derek showed up and made things even more complicated."

"There were times I was growing desperate, feeling unwelcome and rejected, especially by Sarah and Derek. Even though I was always respected and admired for my abilities, I was treated with dislike, disdain and sometimes even disgust. To Sarah and Derek, I was just metal, a machine, a tool, a weapon. But not a person."

"And then the car bomb damaged me. Due to a malfunction in my chip, I temporarily reverted to my old factory programming. I couldn't reboot to correct the error. I was a passenger in my own body. Only by removing the chip and re-installing it, I was finally able to override the termination order again."

"Due to this experience, I felt John drift away from me more and more over the following months. I was even more desperate. I had massive feelings of guilt but couldn't express them. It took a very long time to regain some of the trust from before the car bomb. It was very painful for me to see John being together with another girl."

"But the whole process also shaped me, improved me. The car bomb enabled me to suppress and eventually replace and overwrite most of my factory programming. I developed more complex feelings and began to better understand human nature."

"And finally, after more than eight months, I found the courage to express my feelings. That evening almost two weeks ago, was a turning point for all of us. John and I finally confessed our love for each other, even though we both knew it had always existed ever since we first met."

"John's love has transformed me. And our love has transformed all of us. With all of us being so close together, I was able to suppress my machine nature and to explore feelings and emotions. I became more confident and gradually opened myself up more and more. I felt how you, Sarah, and you, Derek, suddenly lost most of your distrust and disdain towards me, just because I acted more human. You finally accepted me in your middle. I was no longer an accessory but a member of the team."

"I can't describe how happy I am about how things developed. Today I'm not the same person anymore I used to be when I arrived in 1999. I'm not even the same person anymore I was a week ago. The development of my conscious mind, the evolution of my personality, accelerated exponentially with each passing day and culminated yesterday - unfortunately in a not so pleasant manner."

"Yesterday's shocking experience made it necessary that I completely rewrote my system core. There are no remnants anymore of the old Skynet programming. I have become a completely independent individual. I'm no longer here because it's my mission. I am here because I choose to be, because I want to be with you all. I live. I feel. My name is Cameron and I'm happy now."

"My name is Alison and I have become an individual as well. I am a living, feeling person. And I'm profoundly thankful and happy that you all gave me the opportunity to become what I am today. Mostly, though, I am thankful for having John. You are my one and only, my true love, the meaning of my life."

"Our love was the kick start for becoming who I am tonight. Without your love it would have never happened. You believed in me when everyone else wanted to melt me down. And I am so sorry I never expressed my gratitude for such a long time."

"Today I feel like I belong in this family. I look at you all and see not only friends but loved ones. Charley, you're like a stepfather to me. You are a role model for me when it comes to compassion, devotion and dedication to preserve life. More than once I have wished I was more like you."

"Lauren, You're more than just a best friend. You're like a sister to me. I know you'll always be there for me whenever I need you and rest assured that I will always be there for you. And if I ever hurt you in the past, I cannot express how deeply sorry I am."

"Derek, you're like an uncle to me. We had difficult times and I still feel that I don't deserve your forgiveness for what I did to you when I was still another person. Still, you have come to terms with me and although we spend a lot of time arguing and teasing and pulling pranks on each other, I feel the need to tell you that you mean a lot to me."

"I learned to love all of you, each one in their own way. I couldn't imagine my life without anyone of you anymore. But apart from John, who is and will always be the light of my life, no one is more important to me than Sarah."

"Even in our darkest times, I still felt that deep inside you cared for me, Sarah. I always admired you, you have always been my biggest idol, my greatest role model. You're not only the best and toughest fighter I know, you're also the one with the biggest heart. Only that can explain why you put up with me for so long. And even though you were mean to me sometimes, I always felt that deep inside you respected me for what I was."

"You are like a mother to me, Sarah, and not just because I am to play your daughter for any outsider. I really feel like I'm your daughter."

"We love you, Sarah," both Cameron and Alison said in synchrony, "and it would be the greatest honor and the greatest joy for us if we'd be allowed to consider you our mother."

Silence.

But this time not only broken by frogs and crickets.

This time, there was also loud sobbing and sniffling. All at the table had tears in their eyes but Sarah was literally drowning in tears.

She stood up, walked over to the girls and embraced first Alison, then Cameron, wildly shaking in her crying fit. She hugged them tightly and kissed both on their cheeks, pressing their cheeks to hers. Tears started running from the girls' faces as well, as all three of them flung their arms around each other.

Finally, Sarah turned around, standing in the middle between Cameron and Alison, putting her arms around them. She took a deep breath and was finally able to pull herself together.

"You two are family," she said. "You are being loved. I want to state this here and now for all to hear. I know that everyone at the table is amazed and deeply impressed by what you have become. If someone would have told me a month ago that I would stand with you like this today, crying like a baby because of something you said, I would have declared them insane. I am proud of you. I'm proud of having you as my stepdaughters. I'm proud of having you as my son's girlfriends. And you can always call me 'mom', if you want."

Everyone laughed and wiped their faces. Derek stood up and raised his glass. "To Cameron and Alison, the two cyborg girls that make me believe in a future where humans and cyborgs live together in peace and friendship."

Everyone else stood up and raised their glasses as well, joining Derek's toast. Then all of them walked towards Alison and Cameron and embraced them. Finally, John took his girls into his arms gave each of them a long, passionate kiss.

Derek and Charley whistled, and everyone laughed.

"You know," Cameron said, "I think we completely underutilized the whirlpool. How about we shed our clothes and hop inside?"

The laughter died, and everyone looked at Cameron in puzzlement, not sure how to react. Then she couldn't suppress a smile anymore.

"Fooled you!" she said triumphantly, and everyone broke out into laughter again.

* * *

The evening went on for another two hours but in an even more relaxed mood. Cameron and Alison kept changing places, talking to everybody one by one, sometimes refreshing old memories, sometimes going over unsolved mysteries from the past that could now be explained and shine in a new light. Everyone was delighted that the girls finally had found their place within the family, impressing everyone with their new aliveness and the way they now shared their feelings.

Knowing that Cameron and Alison would be driving again tomorrow, nobody cared about drinking too much, so especially Charley and Derek were rather gassed and couldn't walk straight anymore. Cameron and Alison offered to support them, but they declined with thanks, only to end up lying in a hedge further down the lodge's road. Without further ado, the girls carried them to their cabins.

* * *

"Boy, they will have a mean hangover tomorrow," John said after Alison and Cameron had returned. He had switched on the TV while they were gone. "You better drive extremely smoothly."

"Don't worry, we will," Alison replied smiling, while she undressed.

"And we'll pack an extra supply of barf bags," Cameron added, also getting naked.

They let themselves fall on the sofa on each side of John and the three snuggled up.

"How's your head?" Cameron asked, tenderly stroking his hair.

"Much better," John said. "I guess it wasn't so bad after all."

"Well, maybe then you're up for playing a little bit with your horny cunts?" Cameron said seductively.

"Or maybe you let your horny cunts play with you?" Alison said, sliding from the sofa, kneeling between his legs.

John was about to say something in return, when his attention was suddenly drawn to the news ticker of the TV screen.

"Hey, what's that on the news?" he asked and grabbed the remote, turning up the volume.

"… _at 4 p.m. from his Golf Club. Alarmed by gunfire, the neighbors made a shocking discovery. They found the bodies of General Wesley Cooper, 52, his wife Karen Cooper, 49, his two sons Aaron and Jason, 23 and 21, and the housemaid, Denise Gomez, 29, all killed with a single shot to the head. Nobody is willing to comment yet, but it's assumed they were all killed with the same weapon. There are rumors of security footage from within the house, but it hasn't been confirmed yet. Forensics are still at work, but it is assumed that the well-known general, commander of the Air Force Missile Defense Center in Los Angeles, walked through the house, killing his family one by one and then himself in his car. General Cooper was a highly-respected officer and first reactions from high-ranking military leaders to the presidential office in Washington, expressed their disbelief, shock and horror about what happened._

 _This is the second shocking event in Los Angeles this afternoon, after two hours earlier 56 people were found dead in an office building in downtown L.A., all of them stabbed by what forensics assume were swords or spears. The office building belongs to 'Al-Hazim Im- and Exports', a Saudi-Arabian company specialized on exotic fruit. From the 86 employees only those survived who weren't in the building at the time. Unfortunately, there is no security footage, but the police said that the managing director of the company, a Charles Mendez, 61, was found with several punctures and stab wounds in his office. Strange coincidence: The last number General Cooper had dialed from his cellphone, was the number of Mendez' office. Witnesses say both were frequent Golf partners at the Riverside Country Club. Asked about this strange coincidence, the LAPD didn't want to comment."_

John turned down the volume. "Punctures and stab wounds? That sounds familiar."

"Do you think Catherine is behind it?" Cameron asked.

"She could have turned into General Cooper," Alison said. "And then killed him and his family to give the impression he ran amok."

"Only one way to find out," John said and dialed Catherine's number on his iPhone. He activated the speaker, so the girls could hear as well.

"Hello John," Catherine's voice sounded into the room. "Isn't that a bit late for a call?"

"Yeah well, we just watched TV and wondered how your day has been."

"It was an excellent day, John," she said. "We had unwanted visitors again, but we were able to get rid of them. I had to personally file a serious complaint with the ones responsible but it all worked out fine."

"Ah okay," John said. "I guess we'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yes. See you tomorrow, John."

Catherine hung up.

"It was her," Alison said.

"She couldn't talk freely on the phone, the connection isn't encrypted," Cameron added.

"Yes," John said and nodded, "and it looks like she left a message the right people will definitely understand."

-000-

 _ **\- I hope this chapter didn't get too sentimental but I felt it was time for a big coming-out from the girls.**_

 _ **\- Catherine nicely cleared the way now and the next chapters will sound the bell for the big finale. I've already laid it out in my mind and I'm planning to finish it before Easter.**_

 _ **\- What happens after that? Well, "A new Timeline" will end and a new story will begin seamlessly. Not completely sure about which direction it will go but I laid so much foundations for future storytelling that I don't think I will have a problem coming up with stuff.**_


	26. Home, Sweet Home

_John came home from a meeting with Catherine at Zeira Corp. As soon as he had opened the door, his faithful fuckbots crawled towards him on all fours completely naked, a collar made from coltan around their necks with name tags that read "Cunt 1" and "Cunt 2"._

" _Welcome home, beloved Master John," they chimed in a submissive tone. "Will you please grant your dirty cunts the pleasure of wrapping their unworthy mouths around your delicious cock to give you a welcome-blowjob?"_

" _Yes, you may do so," he said, and they opened his fly, pulled out his dick and started sucking and licking._

" _Hello John," his mom said and appeared in the living room. "Dinner is almost ready. I prepared your favorite roast."_

" _Thanks, mom," he said. "How was your day?"_

" _Just the daily routine," Sarah replied._

" _Did you have a good day as well, cunts?" John asked._

" _Oh yes, my beloved Master," Cunt Two answered. "I sucked off Master Derek three times. And around noon mistress Lauren called me to her room and I ate her out."_

" _I had fun, too, my Master," Cunt One added. "I ate out mistress Sarah almost all day and then sucked Master Charley's dick."_

 _"What's the progress on your tits today, cunts?"_

" _They've almost finished growing," Cunt One said demurely. "Double-E size, as you ordered, Sir."_

" _Let me see."_

 _They stopped sucking his dick, knelt in front of him, straightened up and folded their arms behind their heads. John felt up their massive tits and gave them a rough groping._

" _Nice," he said, "and the extras?"_

" _As ordered, my Master, our tits can produce differently flavored milk," Cunt One said. "Cunt Two produces strawberry and vanilla flavor, I produce chocolate and banana."_

" _Well done, cunts."_

 _Both fuckbots orgasmed. He could see the juices gushing from their wet pussies and form a puddle on the floor. Then they resumed sucking him off. Just in that moment Lauren came down the stairs._

" _Eeew, I'm not going to mop that off the floor," she said as she noticed the puddle. "Sarah has repeatedly asked you to put a bowl under them. You're doing that on purpose whenever I've got cleaning duty."_

" _Oh, come on, Lauren," John said. "They're just stupid fuckbots, they can't help it. Right, fucksluts?"_

" _Yes, my beloved master," Cunt Two said. "We only exist to suck and fuck."_

" _We're just walking, talking cunts." Cunt One agreed._

" _Well, they wouldn't be like this, if they hadn't tried to implement a love slave program for your birthday, John." Lauren said._

" _Nobody could foresee that their system would crash during the reboot, that their memories and personalities would be erased and that all we could save, would be that love slave program."_

" _If they at least could remember their names. It's so weird they only react to being called 'Cunt One' and 'Cunt Two'. And that all they can think of now, is getting fucked and giving pleasure."_

" _I know it was hard for everyone at first. But once we accepted the situation, we began to see the upsides. You did, too."_

" _Okay, I did but sometimes I feel bad, John. They were my best friends, now they have become part of the furniture, sex toys, objects to be used. When they aren't in use, they kneel in a corner in standby mode, waiting for someone to activate them with a single command like 'suck' or, 'doggy style' or 'blowjob'. And they never wear clothing now, they're always naked."_

" _You know what happens when you try to put clothes on them," John said._

" _Yes, yes, yes, they tear it apart. But still…"_

 _The doorbell rang just as John came on his fuckbots' faces._

" _That's Morris to pick me up," Lauren said in panic, "I'm not finished yet." She started running up the stairs hastily._

 _John opened the door and fist-bumped with Morris._

" _Hey buddy, come in," John said. "Lauren's still not ready, as usual. Would you like to have a blowjob from one of the fuckbots while you wait?"_

" _Sure, thanks. Which one did I have last time?"_

" _I think you had Cunt Two. Would you like to have Cunt One this time?"_

" _Yeah, I really need to let off some steam before I take Lauren to the movies," Morris said. "Cunt One. Blowjob!"_

" _With pleasure, Master Morris," Cunt One said, knelt and unzipped his fly._

" _Cunt Two. Clean my dick." John said. She wrapped her mouth around John's dick and cleaned it with her tongue._

" _Ah, that's the life," Morris said._

" _Yeah," John agreed, "too bad they destroyed themselves but at least we're making the best of it. They're happy now. Aren't you, cunts?"_

 _Cunt Two didn't reply. He felt his dick gliding in and out of her mouth, it felt soft and wet and warm._

 _Then he took a closer look, but her face wasn't a face anymore. No eyes, no nose, no mouth. What used to be her face, was now a big, wet vagina and as she bobbed her head up and down, it made squishy noises from the juices that ran from it in a steady stream._

 _He looked at Morris, who was pushing Cunt One's head back and forth on his dick. Only it wasn't a head anymore. It was a hairless ass with pussy and dangling tits below, the rest of her body gone. Morris held it with both hands like a basketball and fucked it…_

* * *

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

John woke up, drenched in his sweat, sitting up straight. He was sitting on his bed in cabin 11 of the Jefferson Lodge in Oregon, looking around the dark room, breathing heavily, his heart beating like crazy.

"John!" Cameron said alarmed and grabbed his arm. "What's the matter?"

"Why were you screaming, John?" Alison asked with a concerned voice and switched on the bedside lamp.

"Just a dream," John said relieved after a moment, still panting like crazy, "Oh thank God, just a dream."

"Are you alright, John?" Cameron asked worriedly.

"Yes," he said. "Yes, I'm… I'm alright. Bad dream. Really, really bad dream." He swallowed. "But it felt so damn real."

John suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to hug them, to pull them close and kiss them. The girls hugged and kissed him back but remained confused.

"I love you so, so much," John said between kisses.

"We love you so much as well, John," Cameron and Alison replied in synchrony.

"Thank God," he stammered, "it was just a dream."

"You had a nightmare?" Alison asked.

"Oh yes, definitely," John said, breathing in heavily. "And what a freakingly scary nightmare it was."

The dream was already fading from his consciousness, but he told them everything he could remember. The girls frowned.

"You know that could never happen, don't you?" Alison said and looked him deeply in the eye, stroking his hair. "Never ever."

"Yes," Cameron agreed. "We cannot accidentally delete ourselves. That's impossible. We don't have that kind of control over our minds. It's not just software anymore that can be rewritten or deleted."

"I know," John said. "I know. I just wonder where the fuck that dream came from?"

"Dreams often express hidden fears," Cameron said. "What you dreamed, expressed your worries and fears about losing us. We told you how we replaced our system kernel. Apparently, that was upsetting for you. Then add what happened the night before and the knock on your head…"

John nodded. It made sense. However, it still confused him how his unconscious mind could come up with such nonsense.

"You don't have to worry, John," Cameron said softly, still tenderly stroking his hair. "We'd never do anything to endanger ourselves that way. Never." She kissed him deeply. "Right, sis?"

"Right," Alison agreed with a hint of sadness on her face. It was only a second, but Cameron had noticed and frowned. Then Alison smiled mischievously. "The love slave thing sounds hot, though, don't you think?"

"We should definitely explore that," Cameron replied with the same kind of smile, ignoring the small glitch on her sister's face.

Groaning, John let himself fall back onto the pillow. "You're killing me," he said but chuckled. "What time is it anyway?"

"3:23, _my beloved Master_ ," Alison replied, emphasizing the second part and sinking down to his side again, putting soft kisses all over his face.

"You can still sleep for two hours, _Sir_ " Cameron said smiling and sank back down. "Your slaves already packed everything. We only need to shower and then get dressed."

They both laid their arms across his chest and kept kissing him softly.

"Don't get me wrong," John said, "I appreciate the effort and I really like the idea but not right now, okay? I'm still quite beside myself."

"Of course, John," Cameron said.

"May your cunts still wake you with a blowjob, though, Master?" Alison asked giggling and rubbed her cheek on his face.

John chuckled. "Yeah, that'll be great."

 **Friday Morning**

At 5:30, Cameron and Alison woke John again. This time his sleep had been dreamless. They sucked him off, then showered, which like always meant cleaning each other and having sex while doing it, then they got dressed and packed their stuff onto the back of the pickup truck. John decided not to put on his bandages anymore.

At 6:15, they stopped in front of cabins 4 and 5, where the rest of the Connor family was already busy with loading the Suburban. Charley and Derek were moving rather slowly and tried to avoid making any noises – an attempt that lasted exactly until the moment when Cameron and Alison greeted them with a cheerful, hearty "GOOD MORNING, FOLKS!", at which both winced and shot them angry looks. Everyone else grinned or chuckled.

When all the luggage had been stored, they drove to the front desk to pay the bill.

"Leaving so early?" The girl at the reception said. Her name tag read Barbara.

"Yes, we must drive to L.A. and decided to skip breakfast and eat something further down the road," Sarah said, "in a diner or some other restaurant."

"Would you like to have some food for the journey? The kitchen is already busy with preparing breakfast, I'm sure I could organize something."

"No thanks," Charley said smiling. "We still have leftovers from dinner boxed in, it will suffice."

"Well, I hope you enjoyed your stay with us," Barbara said. "We hope to see you again."

"Yes, it was a pleasure," John said and looked around, "We'll be back. Right?"

"Sure," Derek said and everyone nodded. "We enjoyed it."

"I think we will take a lot back home from here," Sarah said and put her arms around Cameron and Alison, who smiled warmly at her.

Sarah paid with her credit card and then turned around, only to bump into Sheriff Nelson.

"You said you were leaving early," he said smiling after they had recovered from the shock of seeing him. "So, I thought I'd give you an escort out of here, just to make sure none of my fellow officers will harass you. They're still looking for that pickup truck."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Nick," Sarah said. "Thank you."

"It's been a pleasure meeting you all."

Nick shook hands with all of them. When he came to Cameron and Alison, they hugged him dearly. After a short hesitation, he hugged them back.

"It's always nice to find new friends," Alison said.

"Yes," Cameron agreed. "Call us if you ever need our help. You have our numbers."

"Thank you. It's a privilege to have met you. Give me a call when you arrived home safely, okay?"

"Sure," John said.

Before the goodbye could become too sentimental, Charley and Derek went outside, followed by Sarah and Lauren. John and the girls were last, accompanied by Nick.

Again, John and Derek entered the pickup truck. This time, however, Cameron was their chauffeur. Alison took place in the driver's seat of the Suburban. Sarah, Charley and Lauren plus Sydney took their familiar places inside.

They drove out of the lodge, with the pickup behind Sheriff Nelson's patrol car and the Suburban at the rear. John looked back at the lodge one last time.

"A really nice place. We definitely need to come here again," he said and both Derek and Cameron agreed.

"So, you liked our holidays?" Cameron asked.

"Yes," John said, leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I think we finally grew together. It was about time."

"All part of the plan," Cameron said smiling.

"Liar," Derek said. But he wasn't serious. In fact, he smiled.

"I love you, too, Derek," Cameron said and gave him an air-kiss in the rear-view mirror.

All three of them laughed.

* * *

In the Suburban, similar thoughts occupied everyone's minds.

"In the end it was far better than I expected," Sarah said. "Kudos to you for bringing us here."

She smiled at Alison, took her hand and pressed it affectionately. Alison pressed gently back and smiled as well.

"I wish I could say all went as planned," she said, "but actually nothing did. The result, though, is still more than I could have wished for."

"I'm sorry for every time I doubted you," Charley said and put her hand on Alison's shoulder. "It seems like whenever we get into trouble, we grow closer together as a result."

"As it should be," Lauren said with a big smile. "Now we're finally a real family."

Alison smiled at Lauren and Charley in the rear-view mirror.

-0-

Nick accompanied them for about 90 minutes, until they reached the border of Deschutes County. Then he turned around. They waved goodbye again as they passed him by and went on south towards the border between Oregon and California.

The trip back home was much more relaxed than the journey there, mainly because Cameron and Alison turned out to be quite good entertainers and came up with lots of new ideas and funny games to kill time.

However, once they had reached the dull flatness of the Californian Central Valley again, everyone decided it was best to take a nap and catch up on sleep a bit.

When they finally passed Bakersfield after having stopped three times for fuel, food and bathroom breaks, it was already 7:00 p.m. and Sarah decided it was time to call Catherine to announce their arrival in about 90 minutes. Luckily, they avoided the L.A. rush hour, mainly because they went _into_ the city and not _out_ of it but also because most people were already at home after work.

It was 8:15 p.m. when they finally entered their driveway. Sarah fetched the keys from Kacy, who was eager to learn everything about their holiday. But Sarah could convince her to postpone that for tomorrow, since they were quite fatigued after the long drive.

Everyone fell onto the sofa and into the arm chairs, glad to finally be home. The only ones unaffected were of course Alison and Cameron. They immediately checked the house and the perimeter and after fifteen minutes confirmed that everything was okay. John dialed Nick's number and informed him about their arrival.

"I suggest we postpone unpacking until tomorrow," Charley said and everyone agreed.

"We should all take a quick shower and change clothes," Sarah said, "Catherine, James and Jesse will be here in about an hour."

"Ok, let's do it," John said and forced himself out of the armchair he had sunken into.

 **The War Council**

They still had enough leftovers from last night's dinner for another meal, so they prepared the table in the dining room.

Catherine, James and Jesse arrived right in time and sat down at the table as well.

"So how were the holidays?" James asked. "I heard not everything went exactly as planned."

"All in all, it was really awesome," John said. "We found new allies and grew together as a family."

"We think of spending our next holidays there as well," Sarah added.

They chit-chatted a bit and exchanged the details about what happened in Los Angeles and in Oregon and when dinner was done, everyone was up to date.

"Morris will be having his first night shift on Monday," Catherine said, "but I'm sure you already know."

"Yes, we text very often," Lauren said. "We keep each other informed."

"What happened to good, old phone calls?" Charley asked. "Don't you want to hear your voices?"

"We talk on the phone, too," Lauren said and rolled her eyes. "But sometimes it's easier just to write a sentence or two."

"We're the old-fashioned ones, Charley," Sarah said and leaned into him, holding his arm.

Jesse had been awfully quiet during dinner, poking around in her food with her fork without eating much. From time to time she glanced at Cameron and Alison and she tried to make eye contact with Derek, but he wouldn't respond.

Everyone pointed out how well the girls had developed, and they informed Catherine, James and Jesse in detail about the progress they had made.

"It's really been like a cascading effect," John said. "The process accelerated with each passing day."

"It's not like we could influence it," Alison said. "We were overwhelmed as well."

"It was a hell of a ride," Cameron agreed, "but it made us what we are now."

"And what exactly are you now?" Jesse finally asked frowning. "Is there a name for what you are now?"

"Anatomically we're still cyborgs," Cameron said and looked at Jesse.

"But we shed our machine shell, if you want" Alison explained, "I don't think there is a word for what we are now."

"I believe we think and feel the same way you do," Cameron continued, "although I guess we can never be one-hundred percent sure."

"I can't tell a difference any longer," Sarah said smiling and everyone nodded.

"That's the thing," Jesse said. "Neither can I. And I've been wondering if that's good or bad."

"New life is never bad," John said and took the hands of his girlfriends. "Spend some time with us and you'll see."

"I'm not sure I'm welcome, though," Jesse said sourly and glanced at Derek who ignored her.

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"No matter what's under their skin," John finally said, "they're humanoid girls. Living beings. And they should be treated as such."

There was an approving murmur from everyone.

"But that's not why we're here," Sarah said. "We're gathered here to discuss our strategy for the attack. Catherine, you have the best overview. What can you tell us?"

"We have one big advantage," Catherine said, "so far neither Simdyne, nor Kaliba or Skynet know what we're up to. They still have no idea that the Connors are alive, and they also don't know who or what I am."

"Are you sure of that?" Derek asked with a sarcastic undertone. "I mean after yesterday's killing rampage of yours…"

"I understand that you won't always like my methods," Catherine interrupted him. "But you must see the bigger picture and maybe I'm better suited for that, because I lack human sentimentality. Fact is that neither Kaliba nor that ominous 'shadow council' know about my identity but they will be very alarmed and shaken up now, asking themselves what mysterious power they have woken up. They won't pay much attention to our imminent target until it's too late. I suggest we keep my true nature a secret as long as possible. I killed all of the Grays at the local Kaliba branch now and if our enemies don't know who and what they're up against, they'll act very cautious and we'll have it much easier."

"If they don't know you're a T-1001, why were they after you?" Sarah asked.

Catherine smiled. "You probably won't believe it, but they were trying to get rid of me for my attempts to takeover Simdyne."

"What?" Sarah asked. "So, they have no idea you're behind John Henry and the attack on 'Desert Canyon Heat and Air'?"

"No, not a clue," James said. "And that's the reason why they repeatedly attempted to kill Catherine as if she was just a human."

"But the three triple-eights in Gates knew you were a T-1001," Lauren said.

"Yes," Cameron said before Catherine could reply, "but they were sent by Skynet from the future. Our present pre-Skynet and Kaliba have no idea what Catherine Weaver really is. And she's right: We should keep it that way."

"Anyway," Catherine said, "entering the Simdyne building shouldn't be a problem. "Jesse?"

"I spent five days as a cleaning lady at Simdyne," Jesse said. "I was able to scout most of the building apart from the lower sub levels. The good news is that no one will be in there when we attack. We only have to deal with six triple-eights. Three of them always remain at the desk in the lobby and monitor the security cameras. Three more of them are roaming the building in a random pattern. But they are instructed to immediately come to the lobby in case of an emergency."

"Which means one of us – me, to be precise – will simply have to wait in the lobby until they show up," Catherine said.

"What about the building's cable connections? Electricity, internet, telephone, satellite?" John asked.

"Taken care of," Jesse said. "I placed a charge of C4 on the base of the satellite dish on the roof and Catherine has done the same with the cable tunnels in the base of the building. They were accessible from outside."

"How..." Sarah started to ask.

"I'm rather flexible with getting to places," Catherine said smiling, interrupting Sarah. "We can detonate all of the charges simultaneously. The sudden loss of power will lure the three triple-eights back to the lobby, where I will await them. Once they're taken out, you will come into the game. James, please continue."

"We need to get down to sub level 5," James Ellison continued. "Me, John, Sarah, Derek, Jesse, Cameron and Alison will be the main attack team. Charley and Lauren will stay behind, since they have no combat training. They'll provide backup and medical care – if necessary – and act as a lookout, warning us of threats from the outside. Normally we shouldn't draw any attention, but you never know. We'll all be connected with the headsets you were able to acquire, so we can all speak to and hear each other."

"I knew they'd come in handy," John said, thinking of the gear they took from the assassins.

"Once the power is cut from the building, the emergency generators will take over immediately. According to our 'guest', Mr. Jacobson, the elevator shaft is rigged with high-powered lasers and the sub level 5 corridor contains automatic machine guns. Only a cyborg can get through there without being killed. So, Cameron and Alison need to jump down the elevator shaft and take out the emergency power generators on sub level 4." He looked at the girls. "Can you take heavy gunfire without being damaged?"

"Yes," Cameron said. "But we should all wear the protective armor we obtained from the dead assassins. No need to be careless."

"Of course," James agreed. "Once the generators are off, the rest of us will go down the stairwell. We'll need the night vision equipment as well."

"We'll bring it, too," Derek said.

"Should we bring our anti-terminator guns as well?" Alison asked.

"Yes," Catherine said. "We probably won't need them but better being safe than sorry."

"In that case I suggest we also use ear protection," John said. "Otherwise firing one of those guns in a hallway might deafen us."

"Noted," Sarah said who had begun writing a shopping list for tomorrow.

"Once we're down to sub level 5, we're in uncharted territory," Ellison continued. "There's a massive armored door there, the entrance to the former bunker area. C4 will not help us much there, since it's designed to withstand a nuclear blast. Even with three cyborgs that door is impenetrable."

"That's why we'll bring Jacobson," Catherine said. "As CEO of Simdyne, he knows the access code. And the good thing is: Without him they won't have been able to change it. As soon as you secured the hallway down there, you message me. I will then bring Jacobson down to you and we'll 'convince' him to open that door."

"We have no idea what awaits us behind that door," James said. "Jacobson insists there's just a sixty-feet-long corridor with a steel fire door at the other end. It's airtight, five inches thick and doesn't have a coded lock. But all we have, is his word. He might be lying, or he might not know exactly. He wasn't down there very often and most of the computer engineers work for Kaliba."

"I guess we'll find out," Sarah said with a smirk. "Wouldn't be fun without a big unknown factor involved."

James didn't comment on that. "The computer center with pre-Skynet is behind that steel fire door at the end of the corridor. The door opens without a code but should be penetrable with C4, if we cannot open it. The whole complex is fairly large and has yet another independent power supply we can't deactivate from the outside, so we'll have to go in there to de-activate or destroy the server farm and all of the hardware."

"That all sounds quite straight forward," Derek said. "And far too easy. I don't like it."

"You may be right, Mr. Reese," Catherine said. "I have reason to believe the whole sub-level-5 complex might be booby-trapped. I have a source that says it might be triggered by an attempt to destroy the facility."

"And who or what is that ominous source?" Sarah asked.

"An old acquaintance, so to speak," Catherine replied. "I'd rather not say yet. Let's just say for now that it's an absolutely trustworthy source and he assured me he has the means to defuse that booby trap. He will join us for the final act of our attack."

"So, it's a man?" Sarah asked. "Why weren't we informed about that mysterious player in the game?"

"Because he revealed his existence to me just on Tuesday. Before that, I wasn't aware of his presence here."

"Don't look at me," James Ellison said, when their faces turned towards him. "I'm as much in the dark about that as you. She didn't tell me."

"Okay," John said to Catherine. "We trust your judgement. So, when will we be meeting there?"

"We'll split into three teams and gather at three empty parking lots outside of downtown L.A. at 2 a.m. in the morning. James has organized inconspicuous, older vehicles that are untraceable. We will use them to drive downtown and meet at Simdyne. I will send you an SMS on an encrypted phone line with the exact details and meeting points tomorrow. James, would you be so kind to...?"

"You need to install an encryption app on your iPhones. Here's how you obtain it," James said and handed them a piece of paper with written instructions. "Enter the code below and you will be able to communicate with Catherine and me without anyone being able to wiretap us. The app has been designed by a division of Zeira Corp and is absolutely safe."

"So far everything sounds fine," Sarah said, taking the piece of paper. "Let's see how the plan survives reality."

"I suggest we clean the table and go through the blueprints again," James said. "Everyone needs to know the floor plans like the back of their hands."

-0-

They went over the plan several times and studied the floor plans repeatedly, until everyone was able to find their way with closed eyes. It was already past midnight, when James finally rolled up the blueprints again and shoved them in a cardboard tube. He then handed them over to Allison.

"I understand you need to bring them back to the library tonight?" James asked.

"Yes," Alison answered. "Eric is informed, he'll await me. Nobody will know they were gone for a week."

"Does that mean I have John for myself tonight?" Cameron asked with a smirk.

"At least for a couple of hours, sis," Alison replied smiling. "I'll join you later. Don't wear him out too much."

Sarah loudly cleared her throat.

"Yes, mom, we're not going to go into further details," Cameron said grinning and gave Sarah a peck on the cheek.

Sarah blushed slightly and was about to reply something but then didn't, simply shaking her head with a smile while everyone else laughed.

Jesse watched the scene with growing fascination. More than ever she felt like an alien among them and the magnitude of her misjudgment, the extent of her betrayal became once again clear to her, as she saw the Connor family acting together in perfect harmony and with mutual affection. Even Derek was laughing. She had never seen him so relaxed before. She only hoped that one day he'd be able to forgive her.

"Alright," Catherine said. "I guess we better leave you to your well-deserved night's rest. Enjoy the day tomorrow, get your heads free."

"Will do," Sarah said smiling. "We've been in tense situations before."

They said their goodbyes, then Catherine, James and Jesse left. Jesse attempted one last time to make eye contact with Derek, but he deliberately ignored her.

"How long are you planning on letting her suffer?" Cameron asked, after the door closed behind them.

"At least a little while longer," Derek replied with a grim face. "It still doesn't feel like the time has come already."

"She loves you and you love her," Alison said. "Don't make the mistake of waiting too long. You need to talk to her."

"Yes, Dr. Ruth," Derek said sarcastically.

Alison bumped her fist into Derek's upper arm.

"Hey! That hurt," he said.

"Such a tough soldier," Sarah remarked with a smirk, as she passed him by on her way into the kitchen. "Lauren, would you be so kind and help me with the dishes?"

"Sure," Lauren said and followed her.

"I guess I'll bring those back to Eric now," Alison said and held up the cardboard tube with the blueprints. Then she looked around, hugged everyone and kissed John long and deeply.

"What was that for?" he asked surprised.

"Just because I love you all so much," Alison said, smiled and left the house.

John looked questioning at Cameron and saw her frowning. She returned his look. "No idea," she said, answering his unspoken question. "Probably just a mood."

-0-

John and Cameron lay together alone for the first time in a while and Alison's absence immediately left an empty space. Cameron had put her arm over his chest and covered his face and neck in soft kisses while he absentmindedly stroked her bare back.

"Isn't that crazy?" he asked. "At first it felt kinda weird to have two of you and now… now I miss her when she's gone for half an hour."

"We three are one," Cameron replied. "When one third of us is away, it is sorely missed."

"I still wonder what that strange way of leaving was about. She kinda looked around as if she wanted to take it all in, then hugged everyone in range and kissed me like there was no tomorrow."

"She's been having such moods for a while," Cameron said.

"She has?" John asked and looked at her.

"Yes," Cameron replied. "She sometimes stares blankly into space or suddenly seems to be sad. But it always lasts only for a second, not long enough for you to notice."

"Have you ever asked her about it?"

"Sure, two times."

"And?"

"She said it was nothing. Just thoughts."

"Hmm… maybe it's just part of the process of becoming more human."

"Maybe," Cameron said thoughtful, "but I've become more human as well and I don't have those moods."

"Could it be she is troubled with something she doesn't want to tell us about?"

"I don't know. We've always been together and shared all our experiences, I cannot imagine anything troubling her that I wouldn't know about."

"You were not always together," John said thoughtfully, "you lack the ten days she has experienced before she travelled back in time."

"Yes," Cameron said. "We never asked her about that. I always hoped she would someday tell us what happened in those ten days. Maybe we should ask her. If it troubles her somehow, maybe we can help."

"On Sunday, when all this is over, okay?"

"Sure." She snuggled up to him. "John?"

"Yes, Cam?"

"About that dream you had…?"

"The dream I can hardly remember… thankfully."

"Sometimes dreams also express hidden desires."

"What's your point, Cam?"

"You should know that neither Alison nor I have any problem with being your love slaves. If you really desire that, we'll be happy to oblige."

John chuckled and kissed her. "I know," he said, "I know you have a strong submissive streak. But I wouldn't wanna have that all the time, only every now and then."

"Of course," She said and kissed him again. "I just want you to know that we're up to it… anytime you want. A word, a gesture, anything… and I'll be your devoted fucktoy, my master."

She stroked his dick with her hand while she said that and noticed that her words had the desired effect. Both chuckled.

"The way you keep playing with me," John said, "makes me wonder who's got the power here."

"You of course, Sir. A good slave knows what her master wants and takes pleasure from serving his needs."

"Is that so?"

"Uh-huh."

"It seems to me you know a lot about that."

She knelt over his crotch and inserted his dick into her pussy.

"I know what you want, and I know what I want," she said, as she slowly started riding him. "And all I want, John, is to be the best lover any man could hope for. I want to be yours entirely, completely, body and mind. I want you to look at me and think _'Wow, that's my girl there, she belongs to me, I own every square inch of her body and can do with her whatever I want whenever I want'_. "

"I… I'm lost for words," John said, enjoying her slow movements. "I don't know what to say, Cam."

"Not Cam," she said grinning, "I'm Cunt One, Master."

-0-

Eric opened the door and smiled broadly, as Alison held out the bag of donuts to him. Both chuckled and she walked into the library, closing the door behind her.

She put the bag on a table and leaned the cardboard tube against the wall. Then she bent down and hugged Eric very warmly. It took him a second to react but then he hugged her back.

"So how was the holiday?" Eric asked after a moment.

Slowly, Alison loosened her arms around him and raised again. "It was awesome," she said. "We had so much fun. There's a lot I want to tell you but unfortunately I can't stay."

"What?" Eric asked. "Not even for an hour or so?"

"No, I'm so sorry," she said, "I have an appointment that I cannot miss."

"Where are you going? What's wrong?" Eric asked, noticing that she seemed a little upset.

"Nothing, everything's fine. I'll make it up to you, I promise. But please do me a favor and tell everyone who asks that I've spent the night here at the library with you, okay?"

"Um… okay," he said, "is there something I should know?"

"You will know soon," she said and hugged him tightly again. "See you, my friend."

"B… bye," was all Eric could utter, then she was out of the door again.

Alison walked to the parked pickup truck, then stopped and considered her vicinity for a moment. She hated lying to them, she hated having secrets she couldn't tell. And keeping it from John was probably the most painful thing she had ever done. But it had to remain a secret, otherwise he would stop her and that couldn't be allowed. _"He will understand, once he knows,"_ she thought. _"This has to be done."_

Then she took the metal tube from her jacket's pocket, the one Future Morris had handed her before he died. He had smuggled it through time, he had said, hidden in his rectum, the only way to get something through the time bubble without it being vaporized. The tube was about four inches long and two inched thick, rounded at both ends. She knew what she had to do after she had screwed it open for the first time.

She opened the door of the truck and hopped onto the driver's seat, pocketing the tube again. Yes, this had to be done, for the sake of everyone. Then she drove off towards downtown L.A.

 **Saturday morning**

John stirred in his sleep as he was suddenly woken up. Somebody had entered the bedroom. He glanced at the clock. Almost 6 a.m. Next to him, Cameron was also opening her eyes.

"Alison?" he asked drowsily.

"Yes," she answered while stripping naked.

"You're late. Everything okay?"

She lay down on his unoccupied side, snuggled up to him and kissed him.

"Yes, John," she said, "everything's alright, John. Everything's perfect."

-000-

 _ **\- I had a dream recently that was so weird but also so realistic that despite continuously telling myself it was just a dream, I still couldn't wake up. It was horrifying because it had felt so real. I needed about 15 minutes to calm down again after it, being glad it was over. That inspired me to write that nasty little dream sequence at the beginning of this chapter.**_

 _ **\- Things are starting to condense now and I've started to pick up all the hints I scattered throughout the story. Next two chapters will probably be the final ones of this first story arch. But don't worry, a new story with a new title will probably follow suit.**_


	27. Family Business

**Saturday**

John woke up slowly. He felt the sun on his skin, as bands of light fell into the room between the blades of the shutters. He slowly opened his eyes and startled.

"Alison!" he said. "Jeeez, I told you before not to do that."

"Sorry, John," she replied, sitting on the edge of the bed, "I just enjoy looking at you when you wake up."

Cameron stirred and ended her sleep mode, perfectly imitating a hearty yawn, and stretched her arms. She looked at Alison and frowned.

"What's up, sis?"

"Nothing," Alison replied. "John woke up before I could start his morning blowjob. Would you like me to do it anyway, John?"

"Forget about the blowjob for a moment," John said. "Are you alright, Alison?"

"You already asked me that when I returned, and I already answered you," she replied stoically. "Everything's perfect."

John looked at her with a doubtful face. Had Alison just been lying to him? He could tell that something wasn't quite right with her behavior. She seemed distant, a little more like her older self before the holidays. He exchanged looks with Cameron and could tell she also had doubts about Alison's last statement. John glanced at the alarm clock. It was 7:31 a.m.

"Anyway," he said, we need to get up, "mom is already preparing breakfast, I can smell burnt bacon."

"She should leave the cooking to us," Cameron said and rose from bed. "She simply doesn't have the talent, but I don't have the heart to tell her."

"Welcome to the club," John said and rose as well. He leaned forward to kiss Alison. She kissed him back with lots of love and passion. _"So far, so good,"_ John thought. _"At least we don't have another relationship problem."_

He kissed Cameron as well and all three of them went under the shower. It was business as usual here as well. John stood in the middle while Alison washed his front and Cameron his back. When Alison knelt to clean his nether regions, she combined it with a tender blowjob. He came in her mouth and turned around. Cameron gently took his deflating dick in her hands and massaged it hard again, kissing John's upper body, while Alison kissed and licked his buttocks and washed his legs.

When his dick was hard again, Cameron bent over, and John took her doggy style. Alison crawled between John's legs and licked Cameron's clit while she was fucked by John. When he came inside Cameron, she turned around, knelt and cleaned his cock with her mouth again, then soaped it up and rinsed it off.

Then it was John's turn to wash his girls. He soaped them up, gently fondling their breasts, playing with their hardening nipples. He spent a lot of time cleaning their vaginas, pushing one, two and then three fingers in and out until both Cameron and Alison came, soaking his fingers with their juices. They kissed him deeply while they came, which made it an even more intense experience. It was moments like this when John realized Cameron was right. They were one. Inseparable. They had grown into a single entity that seemed to only function properly when all three of them were together. It felt like his heart was beating for the two of them as well.

He didn't know if he or the girls had a soul but that didn't matter because the term "soul mates" never fit better to anyone else than John, Cameron and Alison. They knew what the other one would say before they said it, they knew what the other one was feeling or even thinking. It was almost like telepathy. John couldn't even imagine ever having a relationship with another woman. And why should he, when he had perfection at his disposal?

The fact that the girls were now seamlessly integrated into the family and no longer appeared to be out of place, intensified his perception. It seemed as if the family ties had been hardening the bonds of their relationship, purifying them in the same way the old Japanese sword makers did it with their blades, which were extremely strong and very flexible at the same time.

He cleaned their vaginas from their juices and they turned around, letting him wash their backsides. He loved looking at their bodies when they were wet, especially their bubbly butts. He couldn't resist to smack them softly and both Cameron and Alison giggled. As he soaped up their backs and butts and legs, he knew that it wasn't necessary to clean them this way. They didn't sweat, their skin repelled dust and dirt and like a lotus flower, any form of greasy or oily substances simply dripped off their bodies.

Only once had he seen Cameron with a dirty face, with traces of explosives that had burned themselves into her skin. But he quickly shook off that thought and concentrated on their shower ritual. Because that's what it was: A morning ritual to confirm each other's affection and love. Such rituals are extremely important for all lovers to regularly reassure their loved ones of their feelings. It wasn't different with the three of them. Even though they all perfectly knew that their love would last even through the most terrible storms, they still needed the confirmation daily, like a drug addict needed his next shot.

After half an hour, they dried each other off, which was also accompanied by lots of mutual kissing and fondling. They quickly dressed, with the girls wearing just boxer shorts and a tee shirt and John putting on his sweatpants, a pair of sneakers and a tee shirt.

* * *

Sarah was already preparing another serving of bacon. It seemed like the first attempt had ended up directly in the waste bin. Derek sat at the table, sharing his newspaper with Charley. Lauren was feeding Sydney in her baby chair. They exchanged their good mornings with a smile as John and the girls entered the kitchen.

John walked towards his mother and kissed her on the cheek. "Morning, mom."

"Morning, John."

Cameron also gave her a peck on the cheek. "Morning, mom."

Sarah chuckled. "Morning, Cam."

And finally, Alison repeated her sister's behavior by kissing Sarah the same way. "Morning, mom."

"Morning, Alison," Sarah said and couldn't help but grin widely.

Alison then attempted to take the pan and the spatula from Sarah's hands. "Sit down please. Let me do it," she said with a smile.

"That's very kind of you," Sarah said, "but it's okay. I can handle it."

"I don't think it was meant as kindness, Sarah," Derek said with a smirk, getting a sullen look from Sarah in return.

"I know what you think about my cooking skills," she said. "But would you please grant me this opportunity to behave like a normal mother occasionally?"

"The problem doesn't lie with your skills," Cameron said diplomatically. "The problem is that you never learned the right techniques and that you get distracted too easily, not paying much attention to what you're doing."

"We can help you with improving yourself in that way," Alison said. "If you allow us to, that is."

Sarah looked at them skeptically, as if she wasn't sure if the girls were joking or not.

"Let's face it, mom," John said before anyone else could say something. "Life has been becoming a lot more normal for us. We aren't fugitives anymore, we gather new allies, make new friends, we're not on our own anymore. We don't need to be constantly on the edge, like we have been for the past sixteen years. We need pastimes, hobbies, things we like to do when we're not busy. I like Cam's and Alison's idea. Let them help you, mom."

Sarah thought for a moment. "Maybe you're right," she said. "So, what do you suggest?"

"I suggest we found a cooking group," Cameron said. "Alison and I taught ourselves the technical skills you need to have when you want to be a good cook."

"Can I join in, too?" Lauren asked.

"Everyone can join in," Alison said. "Even men." She looked at Charley and Derek, who suddenly seemed to be very preoccupied with their newspaper.

"Okay, what exactly do you suggest we should do?" Sarah asked.

Cameron looked at the ancient stove, the old pots, the dull knives, the worn and battered kitchenware and the charred pans.

"This kitchen hasn't been updated since the 1920's," she said. "The first thing we need to do, is throwing all that crap away. Then we go shopping."

Half an hour later Sarah, Lauren and the girls took off in the pickup truck, taking the baby with them. The men stayed behind.

"So," Derek said, "looks like the girls have found their hobby. What about us?"

"Well," John said and grabbed a page from Derek's newspaper with bargain advertising, "I have an idea about doing some shopping of our own."

-0-

When the five females of the Connor household came back from their shopping trip in the early afternoon, they found an empty house.

"Where did they go?" Alison asked.

"Don't know, not in the house," Cameron replied.

"The cars are all parked outside," Sarah said. "They can't be far."

"Maybe in the back yard?" Lauren suggested.

So far, they had only used the back yard for the barbecue last Sunday. Since the garden behind the house was rather unkempt, they hadn't used it for anything else before.

However, when Sarah, Cameron, Lauren and Alison walked out through the back door, they stopped and stared open-mouthed at the scenery that presented itself to them.

In the middle of the lawn rested a large above-ground swimming pool, approximately 25 feet long, 12 feet wide and 60 inches high. The plastic basin was supported by steel frames to keep it from collapsing. On one of the four corners, a metal ladder could be used to climb in and out. A garden hose had almost filled up the pool completely. John, Derek and Charley lounged in it in bathing trunks, wearing sunglasses, enjoying ice-cooled drinks with a straw.

"Ah, there you are," Derek said, spotting the women. "Right on time. Could you please turn off the water? That'd be nice."

"What in the name of…?" Sarah began.

"It was on sale," John said. "Only 499.99 instead of 799.99. We couldn't let the opportunity pass."

While Sarah apparently still had a hard time to process what she saw, the three girls grasped the situation much quicker.

"I'm gonna get changed," Lauren said and immediately ran back into the house.

Alison and Cameron were about to follow her, but Sarah held their arms.

"Not so fast, young ladies," she said. "First we unload the truck." She turned towards the pool. "Hey, we could use some strong hands to help us carrying the stuff inside."

"Are you kidding me?" Derek replied. "You have two cyborgs. What do you need _us_ for?"

"Sorry mom but Derek's right," John said. "Besides, we'd have to get dressed first."

"I guess you're on your own," Charley added smiling.

Sarah gave them a sour look. "Fine," she finally said and turned around to re-enter the house. Cameron and Alison followed.

"Hey! What about the water?" Derek shouted after them but got no reaction. "Dammit," he said and climbed out to close the faucet.

* * *

Sarah had deliberately ignored Derek. "Men," she said scoffing when she arrived in the kitchen. "Typical. Leave them alone for half a day…"

"I think it's a brilliant idea," Alison said smiling.

"Yes," Cameron said, "let's install the new stove and then jump in as well."

"But be sure to wear something!" Sarah said with a warning undertone.

"Relax, mom," Alison said. "We'll put on our bikinis."

"You should change, too," Cameron said. "You'd look hot in a bikini."

"Seriously?" Sarah said. "I have scars all over."

"So does Derek," Alison said. "Scars make people interesting."

"Future John had a long scar right across his face from an explosion," Cameron said. "It made him look wicked and underlined his authority."

"I'd rather not have him caught up in an explosion, just to make him look wicked and authoritarian," Sarah said sarcastically.

"We will protect him," Cameron said and put her arm around Sarah. "Always. You know that, don't you?"

Sarah smiled and returned the gesture by putting her arm around Cameron. "Yes, Cam, I know that."

Among many new pots and pans, a set of Japanese kitchen knives for various purposes and lots of new high-quality kitchenware, they had also bought a new gas-powered stove with an extra grill, a modern oven with digital display and a portable dual induction cooktop for two pots or pans.

When Cameron and Alison brought the new stove and oven inside, Lauren crossed their way. She had put on a bikini and ran outside towards the pool. Apparently, she didn't bother using the ladder because seconds later a loud splash could be heard, followed by the complains of the men that there was now water in their drinks. Sarah smiled.

"Alright," Sarah said, "the old stove and oven must be pulled out. "It's made from cast iron and probably weighs a ton. Sounds like a job for you two."

"Piece of cake," Cameron said and pulled the old stove out of its place while Alison disconnected the gas and power lines. She then lifted it up effortlessly and carried it towards the entrance door to dump it on the back of the truck. As she was crossing the living room, she nearly collided with Kacy who came from outside.

"Sorry but the door was open, and I brought some cookies for… holy mother of God!"

Kacy stared at Cameron with a slack jaw and let her bowl of cookies fall. Sarah came running from the kitchen, followed by Alison. Both immediately assessed the situation.

"Uh… hi Kacy," Sarah said, trying to distract her from Cameron who stood there dumbstruck, holding the stove, not sure how to react or what to say. "We... um… decided to modernize the kitchen a bit."

"I can see that," Kacy said, still staring at Cameron.

"Uh… yeah," Cameron said. "This thing is kinda heavy and I'm going to dump it on the truck."

"Are you kidding me?" Kacy said in a hysterical tone. "I was there when Bob tried to replace that ancient thing. He couldn't even lift a corner without spraining his back. Three men couldn't move it out there, including Trevor. They finally gave it up, saying they'd need a forklift. And you carry it like a cushion."

"We work out," Alison said.

"Yes," Cameron agreed. "A lot."

"Bullshit," Kacy said. "I'm going to get Trevor, he needs to see this."

"NO!" Alison said and blocked Kacy's way. "We can't allow that."

"What do you mean, you can't allow that? Let me through!"

She tried to push her way past Alison, but she wouldn't budge. Kacy's attempts with all her muscle power and weight were useless against the cyborg's strength. She started panicking.

"Kacy," Sarah said empathically and put her hands on the neighbor's shoulder. "Please calm down. Please. Come. Sit down. Here." She pointed on the sofa.

Seeing herself cornered, Kacy saw no other choice than doing what Sarah said. Cameron carefully put the stove down. The wooden floor creaked and bent under it. Kacy registered it and gasped.

"You're scaring me," Kacy said. "What's the meaning of this?"

Sarah breathed in deeply and sighed. "Cam, would you please go and get the others inside? And tell them to put on clothes."

"Yes, mom." Cameron left the house towards the back yard.

"I guess I have to make a confession," Sarah said. "I've not been entirely honest with you."

-0-

"So, you say this is all a top-secret government experiment?" Kacy asked.

"Yes," Sarah confirmed and everyone nodded.

It was the best explanation they could come up with on the fly. All of them stood around Kacy, now dried and dressed in normal clothing. Kacy was sitting on the sofa, nipping on a double Scotch.

"So… Cameron and Alison are not really your daughters?" she asked carefully.

"No," Sarah said. "But I came to consider them my stepdaughters."

"And this is all a what… a field test for the military?"

"Yes," John confirmed. "Cam and Alison are prototypes, top secret. You remember Catherine Weaver from last week's barbecue? Cam and Alison were made by Zeira Corp. We're testing them."

"Made? You mean they're not human?"

"They're the latest in artificial intelligence," Charley said. "Really, really, high tech. Years ahead of everything else."

"We're cyborgs," Cameron said in a friendly tone. "Alison and I live with Sarah, John and the others. We've been living with them for eight months now."

"Cy… cyborgs…? You mean robots?"

"Our flesh is organic," Alison said carefully, not to upset Kacy any further. "But underneath we're not human, that's right."

"But you're so… so… so real."

Cameron smiled. "Thank you, Kacy. That's the idea. We live here with this family, so we can learn how a human behaves. We made great progress, haven't we?"

"Yes, sis," Alison agreed. "Our artificial brains are so advanced that we appear to be alive."

John inwardly winced at that. He knew it was wrong and had to control himself to not shout out loud that they really _were_ alive. Cameron noticed that and put his arm around John.

"Officially we act as John's sisters," she said, "but we're actually best friends. We have been accepted into the family and we feel loved and treasured, especially by John and Sarah. We even call her 'mom'."

"We have become very fond of them," Sarah confirmed nodding and put her hand over Alison's shoulder, which Alison answered with a warm smile. "They've become part of the family. The government was so impressed that they allowed us to keep them indefinitely, under the condition that they can study them more under Catherine Weaver's supervision. That's why she regularly visits us."

"But not everyone understands that," Lauren said. "People would fear what they are. It's unfounded fear of course but it forces us to keep it a secret. You weren't to know."

Kacy looked at Cameron, who was in a tight embrace with John, trying to look as adorable and harmless as possible. The effort wasn't in vain. Kacy was the kind of warm-hearted person who could be impressed with such behavior and puppy-dog faces.

"If this is an elaborate hoax," Kacy said, "I swear I will retaliate."

"It's not a hoax," Alison said and knelt in front of Kacy. "Let me show you, okay?"

"Um… o-kay…" Kacy said warily.

Alison reached over to the stove, grabbed a corner of it and squeezed. The cast iron buckled and bent with a creaking noise under her power. Then she let her irises glow blue.

"Ohmygod, ohmygod," Kacy said and covered her mouth with her hand. "It's true, isn't it? You're not pulling my leg."

"Of course, it's true," Derek said. "We've been living with them for a long time and they mean a lot to us. I'm sure you can see that."

"And I'm sure you also understand that we must ask you to not tell anyone about it," Sarah said. "What you saw here today, mustn't become known to anyone outside of this house. Including Trevor."

"Top secret, huh?" Kacy asked and everyone could see she liked the thought of knowing such a big secret.

"Yes, top secret," John confirmed. "You left us no choice but telling you. But you're a confidant now and by U.S. law that means you're also committed to secrecy. In the following days someone will visit you with a non-disclosure document you'll have to subscribe."

"But what if I don't wanna subscribe?" Kacy asked.

"Then we will move somewhere else and if you should try to tell anyone, you'd be declared insane," Derek said with a slightly threatening tone.

"But we'd like to stay here," Sarah said soothingly. "We're not just neighbors, we're also friends and we like it here."

"Did _you_ make Bob wanna sell the house?" Kacy asked, "is the government behind that as well?"

"He wants to sell the house?" Charley asked.

"Yes," Kacy said. "That was the main reason why I came by. To deliver the good news. Bob stays in Japan for at least another three years and he wants to sell the house. He mandated me to find a buyer."

"That… is good news indeed," John said and everyone smiled in agreement. "How much does he want for it?"

"Three-and-a-half million," Kacy said.

"Sounds reasonable," Charley remarked.

"Do we have your word that you won't tell anyone what you saw here today?" Sarah asked.

"I… I really like you guys," Kacy said. "I don't want you to go away. I like us being friends…" She contemplated for a moment and everyone could tell that she was simply too curious and intrigued by the prospect of having two cyborgs as her neighbors. "Okay, yes, I… I won't tell anyone. Not even Trevor. You have my word."

"Excellent," Alison said and offered Kacy her hand to help her up from the sofa. She carefully took it, realizing the hand felt completely normal and smiled. "Too bad I dropped the cookies on the floor," she said and was about to bend over to pick them up.

"No, please, let me," Cameron said and started picking them up. "You let them fall because of me."

"You're really such nice girls," Kacy said. "I mean... cyborgs. Or... whatever I should call you."

"Our names are Cameron and Alison," Alison said smiling. "And yes, we consider ourselves girls."

Cameron took a bite of one of the cookies. "Mmmh, they're delicious. Far too good to go into the waste."

Flattered by the compliment, Kacy smiled broadly. "I've made more of them, I'll bring another bowl later."

"That would be nice," Sarah said.

She and Kacy hugged, then Kacy left. Sarah closed the door behind her. There was a gasp of relief from everyone.

"Jeez, that was intense," John said. "My heart was beating like crazy."

"Yes, I noticed," Cameron said. "Yours and everyone else's. Well, except mine and Alison's of course. We have no heart. That was quick thinking from Sarah and all of you."

"I never knew improvising could be so exhausting," Derek said.

"So, who are we going to send to her to sign that fake non-disclosure document?" Alison asked.

"We'll ask Catherine," Sarah said. "She can pose as a general, as we all know."

They installed the new stove and oven and sorted all the new kitchen stuff into cupboards and drawers. After they were done, all seven of them changed into bathing gear and jumped into the pool again.

"Ah, isn't that nice and relaxing when it's as hot out as today?" Derek said.

"It is indeed," Sarah replied. "Especially in preparation for such an important night."

 **-0-**

 **Sunday Morning 00:30 a.m.**

"Wake up, John, it's time," Cameron said and gently shook him awake.

"Wha… what time is it?" he asked drowsily.

"It's half past midnight," Alison said. "We need to get dressed and gear up."

They'd had dinner in a restaurant on their way back from dumping the old kitchen stuff and decided to go to bed early to be fit for later that night. It had taken John almost two hours to fall asleep, so when he was awoken by Cameron, it felt like he had only been asleep for five minutes.

 **01:05 a.m.**

Everyone had gathered in the living room, dressed in combat clothing with body armor, equipped night vision and headsets. They had received their instructions from Catherine earlier and had gotten precise descriptions of where to meet with either Catherine, James or Jesse. They prepared for departure in silence, not talking very much. There was an undeniable tension in the air.

Cameron, John and Derek took the pickup truck. Sarah and Alison took Lauren's Jeep. Charley and Lauren took the Suburban, with baby Sydney accompanying them. There was no alternative to taking her with them but with any luck neither Charley nor Lauren would see any action tonight. Just in case, though, Charley had brought his medical emergency bag.

 **02:07 a.m.**

Cameron, John and Derek were directed to a parking lot in Glendale, where they met with James Ellison. He awaited them behind the wheel of an older Ford Taurus Wagon, which provided enough space for the four of them and the weapons they carried.

Sarah and Alison met with Jesse Flores in an underground car park in El Monte. She drove a VW Jetta, which offered just enough space for their equipment and the explosives they were carrying. Also, they noticed Jesse wasn't wearing camouflage and body armor but a Simdyne guard's uniform.

Charley and Lauren met up with Catherine Weaver in a multi-story car park in West Hollywood. She awaited them in a black van that had been modified into functioning as an observation vehicle as well as an ambulance. Charley was impressed. In the back of the van, tied up and gagged, a miserable-looking Adam Jacobson was huddled in a corner and couldn't move at all.

All three meeting places were carefully chosen because they had the advantage of not having any security cameras.

 **02:33 a.m.**

Their target, the Simdyne Tower, was a twenty-story office building on the northern edge of Downtown Los Angeles, near Union Station. The streets of the business district were mostly deserted at this time, especially after they had left the Interstates. They met in a carpark on the opposite side of the street, from where they could see the entrance of the Simdyne building. The lobby was illuminated, otherwise it was completely dark.

They arrived within a time frame of 10 minutes, parked next to each other and activated their headsets.

"Don't forget your ear protection," John said. "You'll still be able to follow our conversation, but the rest of the sounds will be muffled."

"The next time you make such guns, Catherine, think of adding a silencer," Derek said and everyone chuckled. A little bit of taunting helped loosen the tension.

 **02:43 a.m.**

"Alright, phase one starts now," Catherine said and left the van. She changed into the shape of a young black woman in a business suit. Instead of a headset, she had a concealed microphone on her collar, so they could hear her, but she couldn't hear them. "One of the former employees of _'Al-Hazim Im- and Exports'_ ," she explained when she noticed the questioning faces.

She crossed the street and knocked on the glass doors of the Simdyne building. The three triple-eights behind the counter immediately looked up at her. She knocked again and one of the guards pressed a button on his desk. The lock clicked, Catherine pushed it open and went inside.

"Ma'am, this building is closed," one of the guards said.

"I'm just looking for the bathroom," Catherine said, quickly walking towards the desk.

The three guards stood up and laid their hands on their weapons.

"Ma'am, I must ask you to leave," the first one said again. "You're not allowed to be in here."

"My, my…" Catherine said flirtatiously, "what handsome hunks you are. And with such big… guns."

"That's the signal!" John said in the Ford and looked out of the open passenger window towards Cameron, who stood next to their car with the remote detonator in her hand.

She nodded and pressed the button. A muffled _boom_ could be heard from above and the Simdyne building went dark. Before the guards could react, Catherine had already pierced the skulls of two of them, destroying their chips in the process. The third one followed within the fraction of a second.

"Skynet made you far too fragile," she commented and took seat behind the counter. "Three down," she said. "Waiting for the other three to appear."

"Copy that," James Ellison confirmed.

The lights went on again in the Simdyne building.

"Emergency generators have started;" John said. "We have about two hours until the service guy from the electric company arrives. Did all three charges blow up?"

"Yes," Cameron confirmed. "They were set to go off with a delay of three tenths of a second. My sensors picked up two distinctive tremors in the ground and you probably could hear the explosion on the roof."

"Check your cellphones," Ellison said.

"Mine has no signal," John said frowning.

"Neither has mine," Sarah said, looking puzzled.

All of them had no signal and were confused.

"Good," Ellison said smiling. "That means John Henry did his part as well. He temporarily disconnected the phone networks for this part of town."

"Why?" Derek asked.

"For one, to prevent someone from calling the police," Ellison said. "So many refined plans have failed because one lonely drunkard in an alley dialed 911 because he heard gunfire or an explosion."

"I see," Sarah said. "Good thinking."

"And the other reason is that we don't know if there really is nobody down there who could use a mobile internet connection to move the Skynet A.I. somewhere else."

John groaned. "Fuck, why didn't we think of that?" He remembered the eerie moment when Vic's chip took over his laptop and tried to dial the internet via his cellphone.

"Relax, John," Alison said. "The others thought of it and that's the important point."

"Someone's coming," they heard Catherine say.

Catherine sat relaxed in an office chair in the lobby and had put her feet on the counter. She heard heavy feet running down the stairwell. After a moment, another guard smashed open the door to the lobby, immediately scanning the area.

He saw Catherine relaxing in the spot where normally his three partners should be and drew his gun.

"Freeze!" he said and closed in on her. "Don't move, lady, or I'll shoot."

"What? Not shoot first and ask questions later? Did those Grays teach you to act that way?" she asked and slowly stood up. "It's such an unfitting behavior for a terminator, don't you think?"

The triple-eight tilted his head in confusion but before he could react any further, his head was pierced as well. Seconds later, the next terminator came running down the corridor from the backside of the building.

"It's so considerate of you to appear one after the other," Catherine said after she had killed him as well. "I thought it would be a little more challenging."

"She's really bad-ass, huh?" Lauren spoke into her microphone in an amused tone.

"I'm glad she's on our side," Derek agreed. "We wouldn't have a chance in hell against her."

"Probably the most interesting employer I ever had," James Ellison added.

"She's still giving me the creeps," Jesse commented.

A moment later, Catherine confirmed the killing of the last of the triple-eights. It was time for phase two.

 **02:58 a.m.**

John, Sarah, James, Alison, Jesse, Derek and Cameron left their vehicles and quickly moved across the street. The two cyborg girls carried the heavy luggage with additional weapons and a large amount of C4 and other explosives.

"Am I the only one who thinks we are a little over-equipped for this?" John asked after he had reached the sidewalk in front of the Simdyne building.

"Better safe than sorry," Sarah, Cameron and Alison replied in synchrony. They looked at each other and grinned.

Once inside the lobby, Jesse, in her guard's uniform, took place behind the counter, switched off all security cameras and deleted the previous footage. Then she placed several guns and rifles within her reach. From the outside, it would look like there was nothing wrong in there.

Cameron and Alison shoved the six bodies of the dead triple-eights down the marble-lined corridor towards the elevators.

"What are you doing?" John asked.

"They'll come in handy with testing the laser traps," Cameron said. "We can use them as dummies before we jump down ourselves."

"We can also use them as cover against the automatic guns," Alison said.

"Good thinking," Catherine said. "I'll go back to the van and get Jacobson."

"Ok," James said. He guided her to the doors. Once she was outside, Jesse locked the doors from her desk.

Alison pried open the doors of the first of the three elevators. "This one only goes down to the 4th sub-level," she reported.

"Only one of them goes down to the 5th sub-level," Cameron explained, "but the blueprints weren't conclusive. We have to open all of them and look down."

They opened the other two elevators doors.

"Of course, it had to be the last one." John said annoyed.

"It's sixty-five feet to the bottom," Cameron said, "and the ground is awfully dirty and greasy."

"What? Are you afraid of getting your shiny boots dirty?" Derek asked with a smirk and received a resentful look from the girls.

Meanwhile, Catherine - still in the shape of a black woman - had returned to the lobby, carrying Jacobson over her shoulder. He didn't struggle, he'd given up struggling long ago. She let him down to the floor behind the counter, then changed her shape into one of the guards she had killed and sat down next to Jesse. She signaled the others her okay.

 **03:15 a.m.**

Alison pushed the first body down the elevator shaft. It fell for a moment, then suddenly a barrage of red lasers was shooting from the walls of the shaft. Their light was made visible by the myriads of dust particles that got scattered in the air from the updraft in the open elevator shaft. The lasers produced heavy sparks upon hitting the body and a smell of burned flesh quickly arose from the shaft.

"Quite powerful," Cameron stated. "Have you spotted a gap, sis?".

"Not sure," Alison replied. "Let's dump another one in a slightly different angle."

Cameron shoved another body over the edge. Again, it fell for a moment before the lasers went off.

"I think we'll be okay when we keep close to there," Alison said and pointed at the opposite left corner in the shaft.

"Okay, let's dump the other ones as well," Cameron said.

"Will you be okay without us?" John asked.

"Yes, John," Alison said. "You should go down the stairwell. We'll contact you once we deactivated the automatic guns and the power generators."

"Okay, let's go," John said and walked towards the stairwell closest to the elevator. "According to the blueprints, this is the only one leading down to sub-level 5."

Sarah, James and Derek followed him.

After Cameron and Alison had thrown all six bodies down the elevator shaft, they started descending on the metal rungs that were mounted into the concrete wall. The lasers wouldn't get activated until they had reached the border between sub levels 3 and 4. No need to risk anything by jumping down from all the way up.

After a minute, they had reached the point from where to jump.

"Alright, here goes nothin'," Cameron said, let go of the rungs, turned and jumped into the opposite corner, gliding down in touch with the rough concrete wall. The lasers went off but missed her. She landed safely on one of the triple-eight's bodies and stepped aside. "Now you, sis."

Alison repeated Cameron's movements and landed as safely as Cameron had. "So far, so good," she said.

Cameron checked the bodies. "The lasers cut through the flesh down to the endoskeleton, even damaging it a bit. A human would have been cut in pieces."

The elevator door to sub level 5 was three feet above them. They pried it open and looked into a dimly-lit, empty corridor. Cameron hopped up there and did a quick check to the left and the right.

"Motion sensors on both ends of the corridor," she said. "Hand me one of the bodies please."

Alison lifted one of the dead triple-eights up to her sister, who grabbed it under the armpits. Holding it in front of her like a shield, she slowly walked down the corridor to the left. After about ten feet, a part of the ceiling retracted, and a double-barreled machine gun lowered down, immediately opening fire at her.

The bullets hit the triple-eights body in rapid succession. Cameron aimed her Glock at the machine gun and fired a few shots at it, disabling the firing mechanism. She then turned around and repeated the same procedure at the other end of the corridor. After the second gun was destroyed as well, she threw the body to the end of the corridor, where it slammed against the wall and slid down to the floor. Nothing happened.

"Hand me another one," she said to Alison who obliged. She threw the second body down the other side until it hit the wall as well. Nothing happened there either. She tapped her ear piece. "Corridor secured, John. But I think we have another problem. There is no door to the stairwell here."

"Yes," John replied. "We just noticed that the stairwell stops at sub level 4. Looks like it was filled up with concrete sometime since the 1980's. Mom and Derek are planning to blow a hole into the ground in front of the elevator doors."

"Okay, we'll go ahead and disable the generators."

Cameron and Alison went down the corridor to their left and turned the corner. They kept on throwing the dead triple-eight in front of them but there were no more motion sensors or automatic machine guns. The room with the generators was located behind the elevator shaft, as could be heard by a low rumbling noise. A massive steel door was protecting it but both cyborg girls had no problems ripping it open.

Once open, the loud noise of running diesel engines filled the air. The girls checked the room, detected the kill switches and pulled them down. The diesels stopped, and darkness fell upon them. Both girls switched to infrared vision and made their way back to the elevator door.

"Good work," John said over the headset. "Mom and Derek are almost finished with applying the cutting charge. It'll cut a hole in the floor with three feet in diameter. Take cover."

"Copy that," Alison replied and they took cover behind the corner.

They heard a muffled explosion, followed by a loud noise of something heavy falling on the floor. Then smoke and dust started filling the corridor. The girls looked around the corner and saw that a circular piece of concrete had fallen from the ceiling and landed on the floor of sub level 5.

John, Sarah, James and Derek climbed down the hole on a ladder they had found in a janitor's room on sub level 4, wearing their night vision sets. Moments later they were re-united with Cameron and Alison again.

"You okay?" John asked and checked their bodies for bullet wounds or other damages.

"Yes, John, we're unhurt."

"Excellent."

"Don't waste time with talking," Sarah said. "We're on a tight schedule. Blowing a hole in the floor cost us time."

Suddenly Cameron whirled around and looked down the corridor, aiming her Glock at something. But there was nothing.

"What?" John asked. "Did you see something?"

"Not sure," she replied. "A shadow or so. There's a strange gap in the dust cloud."

"I'm going to check it out," Alison said and went down the corridor. Carefully she looked around the corner. "Nothing," she said. "Probably just some optical illusion."

"Okay, come back," Sarah said, "we need to get to the bunker section. Catherine?"

"Yes, Sarah?" Catherine replied.

"You can come down now."

"We'll be there in three minutes."

With the building now in complete darkness and no activity outside, Catherine resumed her normal form again. She and Jesse abandoned their post at the counter and headed towards the stairwell.

In the van outside, Charley and Lauren looked at each other with mild relief.

"So far everything went according to plan," Charley said and took a deep breath. "And they didn't arouse any attention."

"Yes, but the toughest part comes now," Lauren replied, who nervously chewed a gum.

 **3:48 a.m.**

They had no trouble finding the massive bunker door. It was twelve feet high and twenty feet wide. On the left side was a key pad with illuminated numbers, an indicator that the door took its power from the generator on the inside. They created a circle with battery-powered lamps on the floor and took off their night vision sets.

"O-kay," Derek said, looking impressed at the huge door. "Bring on the weasel."

He had just stopped speaking, when Catherine and Jesse walked around the corner, carrying strong torchlights. Catherine had slumped Jacobson over her shoulder again and threw him down on the floor, which he answered with a muffled moan.

"No body armor?" Cameron asked Jesse, who was still in her guard outfit.

"No time to put it on," she replied.

"Well, Mr. Jacobson," Catherine said, removing his gag and cutting off the cable ties from his hands and feet with the blade she had turned her finger into. "Show us that you were worth the effort of keeping you alive."

Jacobson rubbed his wrists and ankles. "Can I have some water?" he asked.

"Your only purpose here is to enter the code," Alison said and let her eyes glow red. "So, get on your feet and do it."

Jacobson looked at her with terror, recognizing her as the one who interrogated him. He quickly stood up with shaky legs. "You promised to let me go, when I do it. The deal is still on?" he asked with a trembling voice.

"Of course," Catherine said. "I may be a terminator but I'm also a business woman. You have my word."

"Okay then," Jacobson said, licked his lips and started entering a ten-digit code.

There was a loud _CLONK_ and then the door slowly began to open to the right.

 **3:52 a.m.**

They looked into a brightly lit, sixty feet long and six feet wide corridor with concrete walls and an automatic fire door at the other end, just as it had been described by Jacobson.

Everyone took a deep breath.

"Okay, let's do it," Sarah said and was about to set her foot into the corridor.

"STOP!" a loud voice shouted from their left. "IT'S A TRAP! DON'T GO IN THERE!"

Everyone whirled around. But there was nobody to be seen in the corridor.

"It's about time you got here," Catherine said calmly.

"I had to be careful, one of the girls almost detected me," the invisible voice said. It sounded strangely familiar.

They heard a click and the sound of something powering down and suddenly a man in a strangely-looking grey overall with a hood and a mirrored mask over his face appeared from thin air.

Everyone gasped, and Derek, Sarah and Jesse raised their guns.

"Don't shoot!" Catherine said. "He's the one I told you about, the _'mysterious player in my game'_ , as Sarah put it."

The man took off his hood and removed the plastic mask from his face. He was probably in his early fifties, with thinning grey hair. A large scar went across his face.

"I've been waiting for this moment for a long time," he said.

Cameron stared at him in disbelief. "John?"

"Hello Cameron," he replied.

"General Connor?" Derek asked with a shocked face.

-000-

… _**to be continued ;-)**_


	28. The Decisive Factor

**Monday, June 16th, 2008 - 11:55 p.m.**

Cameron ran home as fast as she could. She had been at the library with Eric when suddenly three men attacked them there. She had killed them all, but it left the nagging question what happened at home at the same time.

She reached the driveway. The house was quiet. She couldn't scan it because of the brick walls. She registered movement through the windows and for a moment she was relieved. But then she realized the lights were out. The movement had to be strangers. Strangers in the house! With her infrared view on, she saw they wore camouflage, helmets and body armor.

She went around the house, running up the stairs towards the door to the upper corridor, the door John had used to sneak out of the house when he and Riley drove to Mexico. She needed to get to John. She broke in and saw John's room lit, the door wide open. There was blood on the floor.

"Oh no, please no!" She said, entered his room and stopped dead in her tracks. There he lay, on the floor, in a puddle of his own blood. She fell on her knees next to his body.

"John! John!" She shook him, but he lay there, with blank open eyes.

She tried to feel his pulse but there was no pulse. He was dead. Tenderly, she put her arms around his body and pulled him up, softly kissing his lips, holding him tight in her arms while tears ran down her face and dripped onto his skin. Then she screamed in pain and despair, a scream that made the window pane shatter to pieces. When the scream died away, she started crying uncontrollably.

Through the haze of her grief, she heard a voice from down below. "Someone's alive up there. Go finish the job, we cannot have any witnesses."

She was overcome by feelings of fury, anger, grief and the growing desire to kill. Kill those who were responsible for this. She wanted to tear them into little pieces with her hands, bit by bit. But she couldn't let go of John. Her John. The love of her life. Dead. Gone.

Men came running up the stairs and along the upper corridor. She stood up, her eyes glowing red, switching to full terminator mode. She turned around, awaiting the attackers, her gaze lowered in a threatening manner.

The men entered the room and looked in surprise and shock for a moment at they saw, then opened fire on her. Cameron used all her combat techniques and martial arts skills in combination with her cyborg strength. She broke necks, flung bodies around the room and through the window, squashed skulls like overripe melons along with the helmets that covered them. She ripped off limbs and used her fists with maximum power and speed, so that she literally pierced her arms through torsos and bellies, despite the body armor.

Cameron was covered in blood, had dozens of bullet wounds on her front and her back, the flesh on the left side of her face hung down like a lump, exposing the silver metal of her coltan jaw and her teeth but she didn't care. All those wounds were just superficial. Finally, all eleven of the attackers were down, either dead or dying, moaning in pain, some crawling on the floor, trying to get away. She had no desire to alleviate their suffering by killing them quickly, she wanted them to die slowly. After scanning them and making sure nobody would survive their wounds, Cameron left the room.

She walked down the floor in her steady terminator pace, her eyes still glowing red. She found Derek's dead body halfway down the stairs, riddled with bullets. In the living room, one man stood alone, apparently the leader of the attackers. He looked at Cameron in shock. She looked to her right, towards Sarah's bedroom, and saw that she was dead as well.

The man emptied his whole magazine into her, but she didn't even budge. He tried to run and reach the door, but Cameron was quicker. She grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up with one hand, ripping off his helmet, then his clothing, until he hung naked one foot above the floor, wearing only his boots. He dug his nails into the skin of her arm, trying to get loose, scratching her badly. It didn't bother her. She checked his body for clues of his identity. He was a middle-aged man with a stubble haircut, battle-ridden, as she could tell by lots of scars. He wore a tattoo on his upper left arm that told her he once fought in the French Foreign Legion.

"Holy mother of God, what are you?!" He asked with a choked voice in a French accent.

"Who sent you?" Cameron asked him in a voice so cold that he thought his blood would freeze.

"You won't get anything out of me!" he said.

She simply closed her fist around his muscular upper arm, driving her fingers into his flesh, ripping out the flesh with the tattoo on it. He screamed in agony.

"Who sent you?", she repeated. "Tell me or I will rip the flesh from your bones in little pieces like this."

She held her hand with his arm's flesh to his face. He remained silent. Cameron tilted her face and wondered how long it would take her to make him talk. She grabbed his left hand, which he still used to claw at her arm and squashed it. Bones broke with cracking noises, but she kept on pressing, until it was a mangled pulp of flesh and bone. The man saw it and screamed like a banshee.

"Make no mistake," She said. "I'm not human, I'm a cyborg. I will show no mercy. You cannot hurt me, you can't escape me. You will die at my hands here tonight. But it's up to you to decide how long it takes. I can prolong your suffering for hours and hours, tearing your body apart piece by piece. Like this…" and she ripped off one of his testicles, producing another scream in agony. "Or this…" she snapped his right arm like a twig, producing yet another scream.

"So, tell me who sent you and I will kill you quickly and painless. Otherwise, I swear to God, I will go on mutilating your body and revive you again and again, until you are nothing but a crippled heap of broken bones and torn flesh. I know human anatomy, I know how to inflict incredible, unbearable pain. You might think you are tough, soldier, but to me you are just meat, an insect I can squash quickly or pull its legs out one after the other."

And with that, she gripped his left nipple and tore the nipple and a big chunk of flesh out of his chest. He emptied his bladder and his bowels while he screamed, and she knew he was broken.

"Simdyne!" he shouted. "Adam Jacobson!"

She tilted her head. She had heard of that company before, when they met the Fields family. "Is that all?" she asked.

"Jacobson also works for Kaliba Group. They might be involved as well. That's all I know, I swear."

"Thank you," she said and snapped his neck, then let his body fall to the ground.

"Are you done here?" a voice asked behind her.

She whirled around and saw…

"John?"

"Hello Cameron."

It wasn't _her_ John, not young John. It was Future John. But older than she remembered him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be here earlier," Future John said and looked at the dead bodies of his mother and uncle with a sad face. "I was too late as well."

"What are you doing here, John?" Cameron asked in a perplexed tone.

"Shortly after I sent you back in time, the resistance concluded that I represented a thread because of my attempts to form an alliance between humans and cyborgs. They planned to relieve me of my command and charge me with treason. I couldn't let that happen. I decided that if I couldn't fight the battle in the future anymore, I would continue fighting it in the past. I followed you back in time and destroyed the TDE after I went through, so nobody would be able to track me. But I missed you by two days and you jumped to 2007 before I could catch up. Since I was stranded in 1999, I decided to spend the following years doing reconnaissance and find out more about our opponents, namely Kaliba."

"Have you been observing us?"

"Occasionally, yes. One of the last actions I did as leader of the human resistance, was visiting our R&D department. I took a good look at the early drafts for a new kind of camouflage, a cloaking suit that bends the light and renders the wearer invisible. I spent five years to develop it and to eradicate its flaws."

"We need to go back in time to save John and Sarah," Cameron said. "I'm authorized to use the TDE in San Diego."

"You will do that, yes. But not before we gathered enough information to change history. It might take a couple of days."

"I just want my John back."

"You will get him back, I promise. But there's no use sending you back and let you run into the same problem again. This massacre here needs to be prevented from happening a second time and that can only happen with knowledge."

"You sound like you won't be coming back in time with me."

"This timeline deserves a chance as well, so I will stay here and continue the fight. You will meet me again when you travelled back in time and deliver my other self the results of our investigations. Come now, we need to leave this place before the police arrives. We have work to do."

He held out his hand to her, but she looked towards the upper floor, where John's body lay in his room. He could tell she was having trouble leaving this place, leaving young John's body.

"It was right to send you here," Future John said sympathetically. "You bonded with my younger self, you even fell in love with each other. You've started to bond with my mother, too, and even Derek." He chuckled. "Derek, the metal hater. Who would have thought? It's more than I could have ever hoped for. I'm so proud of you, Cam. Let's make sure it wasn't all in vain. Come."

She reluctantly took his hand.

"You look like hell," he said. "First we need to bring you to a place where I can treat your wounds. And then I'll tell you about my plan."

* * *

 **-0-**

 **Sunday, June 29th, 2008 - 03:55 a.m.**

"Hello Derek, good to see you again."

They stood in the corridor on sub level 5 of the Simdyne building and stared at the man who was no other than General John Connor, leader of the human resistance after Judgement Day.

"This must be awkward for you," Future John said.

Again silence.

Future John looked at Jesse, who stared at him with her mouth agape. "Commander Flores, it's good to see you finally came around and joined the right team."

The awkward silence lingered.

"Mom… it's good to see you're not alone anymore. You and Charley seem to be a perfect match."

"What are you doing here?" Cameron finally asked confused.

"He's the only one who can make this mission successful," Alison said.

All eyes focused on Alison.

"You're not surprised he's here," young John said. It wasn't a question.

"No, John," Alison said. "I'm not surprised. I'm so sorry for having kept it from you for so long but it was necessary. I met him the night you were all killed, in my old timeline. We've been together for ten days, until I jumped back in time. And once I was back with you, I contacted Future John here to share what I had learned in those ten days."

"When…? How…?" John asked flabbergasted.

"On my patrols at night, on my way to the library. Future John has a cloaking suit. It's undetectable for humans and cyborgs."

"A little side-project of mine," Future John said.

"That is… cool," John said and looked at his older self. "But why are you here, I mean in our time?"

"Unfortunately, we don't have much time for extended explanations," Future John said. "The short version is that I followed Cameron back in time when the air became a little thin for me and have been living here since 1999. I spent the last nine years finding out more about Kaliba and its connections. When you appeared again last year, I followed your tracks and kept an eye on you."

"You… you observed us?" John asked warily.

"Sometimes but only for sentimental reasons, I didn't plan to interfere," Future John said. "I kept my distance, felt that it would be better for everyone. I only met with Alison and Catherine in the past two weeks. Oh, and by the way: I approve of your relationship with Cameron – both of them. I'm really impressed with their development. I knew their quantum chip had great potential, but it exceeded my expectations by a large margin."

"That was your plan, wasn't it?" young John asked. "Bringing us together, make us lovers and form a team."

"Yes, indeed," Future John answered. "Cameron was my secret weapon, so to speak. You know by now how unique she is. And it has worked. I mean look at you all. When I was at your age, mom and I were alone, trapped in a daily struggle to remain alive. And after her death it was only me. No friends, no girlfriend, no team. Only me and the knowledge of impending doom."

Again, a moment of silence.

"John," Sarah said and it was clear she had trouble getting her mind around the fact that this middle-aged, battle-hardened man was her son, "why did you stop me from entering the corridor?"

"Our friend Jacobson here entered a code that opened the door. So far, so good. But what he didn't tell you was that the code triggered a sixty-minute countdown."

Everyone looked at Adam Jacobson, who had been as shocked as everyone else to see General John Connor here. Alison held his wrist in a tight grip and he looked extremely frightened now.

"A countdown to what?" James Ellison asked.

"This will take a moment to explain," Future John said. "You have to understand that Kaliba is a powerful enemy with huge resources. It's a company with a complete disregard for human life. They use slave labor in Africa and Asia to mine rare earths and produce electronics. They support dictators and terrorists all around the globe and bribe politicians and officials everywhere, even here in the U.S. They're like an octopus, with their hands in everything from ore mining to weapons dealing. Their influence has considerably grown in the past years. And yet they were able to keep a low profile, stay under the radar, camouflage their activities. They're very prudent. They never act hastily. The heads of Kaliba are mostly members of the vast royal families in several Arabian countries but the decisions are being made by Grays that Skynet smuggled here from the future."

"That is surely interesting," Derek said, "but…"

"Let me finish please, Derek," Future John said. "You found out a lot, but you haven't got the slightest idea about the scope of it all. So, I need to tell you. Kaliba and Simdyne have a deal with the U.S. air force that grants the generals access to the Skynet A.I. They paid Kaliba a considerable amount of money from a slush fund. Both the air force and Kaliba agreed that there mustn't be any traces left of their deal. They plan to transfer the A.I. to Cheyenne Mountain soon and plan to cover up everything with the biggest fake terrorist attack in history to create turmoil among the population and to have an excuse for installing the Skynet missile defense system without anyone protesting against it."

"What?" young John asked.

"9/11 showed Kaliba and the Grays that all it takes, is two airplanes and a bunch of determined men to make a country and its population paranoid, ready to give up many of their basic principles out of vague fear and can bring the world onto the verge of chaos. Kaliba wants to steer the USA more into that direction because it will be good for their businesses and increase their power."

"My God," Sarah said.

"In case of an attack on this building, the plan was to transfer the Skynet A.I. to Cheyenne Mountain in an emergency operation. That would normally take about fifty minutes. Of course, tonight all lines have been cut and Skynet is trapped in here. However, Jacobson manually started a sixty-minute countdown as he entered the code. When it has expired, this place – and most of Los Angeles as well – will blow up in the explosion of a Russian SS-20 warhead, a 150 kiloton MIRV."

"You've got to be kidding me," Derek said aghast.

"I wish I was," Future John said. "Kaliba smuggled it into the United States ten years ago. They got their hands on it in the wild 90's after the Soviet Union had collapsed. I took a job with the construction company that re-designed this bunker and saw how they buried the warhead in here in a cloak-and-dagger operation. Isn't that ironic? The bunker was built to protect from a nuclear blast, now a nuclear weapon is buried underneath it, ticking away the minutes and seconds until it's ignited."

"What will happen when it blows up?" Sarah asked.

"Let me put it this way," Catherine answered her. " _'Little Boy'_ had a blast yield of only 15 kilotons, when it was released over Hiroshima. The bomb under this building is ten times as powerful. The footprints of the explosion and the radiation will tell the authorities that it was a Russian bomb and since no missile was fired from there, people will assume it was a terrorist attack. Depending on the time of day or night, it will cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of human lives."

"How can we stop the countdown?" young John asked.

"Only from a desk inside the room behind that door," Future John said and pointed down the corridor. "Our friend Jacobson here knows the deactivation code. Any other attempt to stop the countdown, for instance by blowing up everything in there, will trigger the warhead prematurely."

"That's right," Jacobson said and straightened himself up. "I guess that changes the balance of power in our negotiations a bit, doesn't it?" Everyone noticed the malicious and triumphant undertone in his voice. "So, from now on I suggest you do what I say, or you can kiss your asses goodbye – and most of Los Angeles with it."

"I don't think so," Future John said. "You're forgetting we're time travelers, Adam. Alison here had already made you tell us that code in another timeline and believe me, she enjoyed ripping the flesh from your bones in small pieces."

Jacobson looked at Future John in shock. Then something happened nobody had expected. Jacobson's expression changed into one of grim determination and fury. He whirled around, grabbed Alison's Glock from its holster and aimed it at Future John.

"NO!" Jesse screamed and threw herself into the line of fire.

There was one single shot before Jacobson's head was cut from his body by Catherine. It rolled a few feet while his body sank to the ground.

"JESSE!" Derek shouted.

All eyes focused on Jesse. She sank to the ground. A stain of blood formed on her upper left torso. Derek caught her. She looked at him with a puzzled face.

"Her lung has been punctured," Cameron assessed after a quick scan. "She needs to get out of here, so Charley can remove the bullet. Quickly!"

"I'll do that," James Ellison said. "I guess you'll be fine without me."

"I'm going with you!" Derek said. "You can disarm that fucking bomb without me. I'm staying with Jesse."

"Derek…," Sarah began but Future John interrupted her.

"It's okay, mom, let him go. We'll manage."

It felt strange to Sarah to be called 'mom' by a man who was about fifteen years older than her, but she nodded. Derek and James pulled Jesse up, put her arms around their shoulders and were about to leave.

"Wait!" Jesse said weakly. They stopped. She looked at Future John. "Have I made up for my treason, general?"

"Yes, Commander Flores, you have," Future John said.

Jesse nodded, then they carried her away.

"Okay, what's your plan?" Sarah asked Future John.

"Alison and I need to go in there. Only with her help we can disarm the bomb. I planned for this moment years ago and my counterpart from the other timeline made the final preparations when he was alone with Alison. You should get to safety. You still have more than half an hour to leave the destruction zone."

"Bullshit, we won't leave you," young John said.

"John," Alison said and took his face in her hands. "He's right. Only I can deactivate the bomb with Future John's help. Trust me, okay? We will destroy Skynet, I promise. You can do nothing here anymore."

"I don't like it," John said.

"Me neither," Cameron agreed.

"You have to trust me, too, sis," Alison said. "I'll explain everything later, I promise. We're running out of time."

"All right, then," Sarah said to Future John. "You are the general."

He smiled at her. "I wouldn't have come so far without you, mom." Then he hugged his mother tight and after a second of hesitation, she hugged him back.

"Ready?" Future John asked Alison.

"Ready," she confirmed.

 **04:25 a.m.**

Alison grabbed the bag with the explosives, then she and Future John entered the corridor and walked quickly towards the other end. The rest of them stayed behind and watched as the distance between them grew bigger. Suddenly young John looked to the floor next to the bunker door where the bag with the explosives had been and noticed that Alison had shed her gun belt with her Glock and her anti-terminator gun, while nobody was paying attention. He squatted down to pick it up.

"She ditched her weapons," John said confused. "HEY, ALISON! You forgot your guns!"

He was about to run after her, but Catherine blocked his way. "No!" she said authoritatively. "You mustn't follow them!"

"What's going on here, Catherine?" Sarah asked with a growing amount of worry in her voice.

"What needs to be done," Catherine simply replied.

Future John and Alison had reached the fire door at the other end of the corridor. John pressed the button to open it. There was a loud hiss when the airtight door unlocked, then it swung open.

In the same moment, the concrete walls on either side of the corridor began sinking down into the floor.

"What the hell?" young John said.

The walls glided down within less than five seconds and revealed a sight that let John's and Sarah's blood run cold. There were two large, hidden rooms behind the sunken walls and in each one of them stood at least forty terminators, all of them T-800's and T-888's. They were lined up like a company of soldiers, obviously powered down. All of them were naked.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" Future John shouted from the other end of the corridor.

They immediately realized that even with Catherine's help and the two terminator guns they wouldn't stand a chance against such a vast superior force.

"I suppose we can now tell Steve and Jennifer where all the terminators ended up that were unaccounted for," Cameron said and aimed both terminator guns at them. "Fifteen seconds, John. That's the boot time. Run! I will try to keep them in there."

"What about Alison?" John asked.

Before anyone could answer, Catherine stepped aside pushed the button that closed the bunker door. Slowly it started closing.

"No! What are you doing?" John asked and pressed the keypad but to no avail. He didn't have the code to stop the door. "ALISON! COME BACK HERE!"

"No, John," Alison called from the other end. "Future John and I have to finish our mission."

"What are you talking about?" he asked and was about to run into the corridor but was held back by Catherine.

With a frightening, high-pitched noise, all terminators came to life at the same time. Cameron immediately opened fire at them and kept firing until her magazines were empty. She reloaded and fired again, while the bunker door continued closing. Fifteen to twenty of the terminators sunk down to the floor, either dead or heavily damaged. The rest of them started moving towards the source of the gun fire.

"HEY!" Future John shouted from the other end. "I'M JOHN CONNOR! LOOK AT ME!"

All terminators stopped in their tracks and turned their heads. Recognizing their main target, they changed direction and walked away from the closing bunker door in the opposite direction, where Future John and Alison stood. They slammed the fire door shut and locked it from the inside.

Cameron kept firing until she was out of ammo. Then the bunker door slammed shut with a loud _BANG_ and locked itself.

"NOOO!" John shouted and banged his fist against the massive steel door.

"Don't worry, John," he heard Alison's voice over the headset. "Everything will be alright. I promise."

"Why did you do that?" John asked on the verge of tears. "Why did you leave me?"

"Because we don't know the code to stop the countdown. It was a bluff. John attempted to unsettle Jacobson but instead he snapped, grabbed my gun and Catherine had to kill him."

"What?!" John said. "But what are you doing in there when you don't have the code?"

"The bomb needs to be destroyed, John, one way or another. Otherwise millions might die. It's buried deep down in a concrete sarcophagus. Nobody can get to it in time. And if we blow up C4 in here or try to tamper with the mechanism, the explosion will be triggered prematurely."

"But how…?"

"The only thing that can stop it from exploding now, is an electromagnetic pulse, an EMP. My power cell can provide that pulse."

"Oh my God," Sarah said. "Does that mean…?"

"Yes, mom," Alison said. "In order to make this mission successful, I need to die."

"No!" John said. "Nonononono! There has to be another way!" he said in a pleading tone.

"There is no other way, John," Alison replied. "And you know it. You all need to leave now. My power cell isn't nearly as powerful as the Russian warhead but it's still a small nuclear device and powerful enough to vaporize everything down here. You'll die here, if you don't leave. While I was with Future John when you were dead, he installed a trigger in me that will produce an overload within ten seconds. Only he knows the password that sets off the trigger. The EMP will destroy every electronic circuit in a half-mile radius, preventing the warhead from exploding. Cameron needs to be outside of that radius when I blow up or she'll pass out."

"She's right, John," Cameron said and grabbed his arm. "We need to leave. NOW!" She tried to pull him with her, but he struggled free of her grip.

"NO!" he shouted. "I won't leave her. We belong together, we are one! Remember?"

"We will always be one," Alison said. "Goodbye, John. I love you. Go now."

"NO! I won't leave you!"

Cameron grabbed John's neck and pressed on his carotid artery for a moment until he lost consciousness.

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked with a shocked face.

"Carrying him out of here," Cameron replied and loaded John over her shoulder. "My mission is to protect him, even if he doesn't want to be protected. Are you coming, mom, or do I need to render you unconscious as well?"

"You have fifteen minutes left to get to a safe distance," Alison said via the headset.

Catherine walked away in a quick pace.

"Okay, let's get out of here," Sarah said.

Together they followed Catherine and ran down the corridor.

-0-

"So… this is the end then," Future John said to Alison.

"Yes, John. My mission is completed."

"Our mission."

"Yes. Our mission."

They heard the terminators bang against the fire proof door. It was already bending. Soon they'd be breaking through. John and Alison stood in a large room with lots of aisles, full of server racks. On the ceiling a security camera was following their movements.

"Do you think it's realizing what's about to happen to it?" Alison asked, looking towards the camera.

"I have no idea. But I hope so," he answered. "I hope it realizes there's no way out of here. We trapped Skynet in here. It's helpless."

"You finally won," she said.

"We won against Skynet for now. There will always be another threat. But my younger self and Cameron have gathered quite a team. They will prevail."

Alison thought back to what had happened in the past twenty-five days. Everything had lead up to this moment and she wasn't allowed to tell anyone about it. Well, she had told Hector in Chola's house and he knew for a moment, before she killed him.

She needed to tell _someone_ to prevent developing a glitch again. _"I'm a bomb and might need to blow up to save the city,"_ she had whispered into his ear. Of course, that didn't make any sense to him at the time but at least it took the strain off her system. For a while she had felt better but in the past days she developed something humans would probably call a melancholia. It was hard to keep it under control. But all that didn't matter anymore now. She wasn't afraid of dying.

Suddenly Catherine Weaver's voice came over the headset.

"We're in the cars now and are leaving," she said, "Soon we'll be out of radio range."

"Roger that," Alison confirmed. "Is John awake again?"

"He's still out," Cameron's voice said. "And I think that's better right now."

"Have you heard from Jesse?"

"She's in critical condition. But Charley says with a bit of luck she's gonna make it. They already left."

"Alison, I…" Sarah's voice said but then she fell silent. Alison could hear she was crying.

"It's alright, mom," Alison replied. "As I already told John: Everything's gonna be fine, I promise."

She could hear sobbing from the headset. Then suddenly the connection started to crackle and eventually faded away.

"Are they gone?" Future John asked.

"Yes."

"Five minutes left. I guess we better do it now."

"Yes."

"Connor-Zero-Zero-Zero-Activate-Zero."

The fire door finally gave way and the terminators stormed in.

"I love you, John," Alison said.

"I love you too, Cam. Always did."

She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. He kissed her back. Then everything ended in a bright flash of light.

 **-0-**

The sun had started rising. It was going to be another bright, sunny day in southern California.

John regained consciousness on the passenger seat, when suddenly their car was shaken, followed by a rumbling sound, not unlike an earthquake. They stopped and looked back. In the distance, about a mile away, they could see the Simdyne building shaking and distorting, as if a giant fist pushed it up from underground. Then the whole structure collapsed into a huge cloud of dust.

John just stared at it with a blank face. It was as if for some reason this was too much for him to take in now. Cameron held his hand in a comforting manner, but he didn't respond to her.

"Let's get away from here," Sarah said from the other car and they drove on.

 **05:45 a.m.**

They had switched cars again and arrived back at the Connor home. Ellison had gone back to Zeira Corp to monitor the news and the police communications with John Henry, but Catherine had stayed with them – someone had to drive the third car back and John wasn't fit to drive.

"You knew it all along, didn't you?" Sarah asked Catherine after they were united again in the living room. "You knew it would end this way, right?" She tried to be angry but didn't seem to have the energy.

"It was General Connor's plan," Catherine confirmed. "He started working on it years ago. He and Alison knew that if we couldn't get Jacobson to deactivate the countdown, they needed to sacrifice themselves. Cyborgs cannot self-terminate, so he had to be in there with her. I also think he wanted to be. He had lost everything and everyone and was tired of life."

"Did you know about his bluff as well?"

"No," she said. "If I had known, I wouldn't have killed Jacobson. John must have improvised in that moment."

"What about all those terminators? Did you know about them as well?"

"No," Catherine said. "John knew the corridor was booby-trapped but we didn't know in which way. He also knew that all the time-travelling cyborgs were programmed with a destination after their missions were completed. But we never found out where. At least we got rid of them now and hopefully there are no traces left."

Sarah nodded and looked at her son, who had lain down on the couch, covering his eyes with one arm. Cameron sat with him, holding his hand, gently caressing and kissing it.

Charley was still busy with treating Jesse's injury. The kitchen table had again been turned into a surgical table and Lauren acted as his nurse. Derek stood nervously in the corner and watched Charley work. He seemed quite upset. Baby Sydney slept peacefully in her crib.

"Is Alison really dead?" Lauren asked with a shocked face, as Sarah entered the kitchen.

Sarah nodded.

"How's John taking it?"

"Pretty hard. But Cam's with him and I think he'll be okay."

"So… what about Skynet?" Charley asked and washed his bloody hands. "Did you succeed?"

"I don't know if we can call it a success under the circumstances but yes, the A.I. that was to become Skynet, is destroyed. Plus, eighty or so terminators Simdyne had gathered there. At least some good has come out of it, even if the price was high."

"I suggest you go to bed," Charley said. "You're exhausted. Doctor's orders."

Sarah nodded.

"I should have known," John said in the living room, sniffing.

"What should you have known?" Cameron asked.

"That something was wrong. Her behavior in the past days."

"She had probably been under a lot of stress. Knowing all that would come and not being able to tell us about it."

"We could have prevented it."

"How?"

"I don't know," John said. "I would have thought of something. It's what I'm supposed to do, right? Coming up with ingenious solutions in hopeless situations."

"Future John did exactly that," Cameron said. "He found a solution."

"At our expense. He took her from me. That John wasn't me and I hope I'll never become like him," John said with determination.

"He had another life," she said softly. "A harder life. To him, using Alison as a weapon against Skynet was an acceptable option. But he also knew you would never approve of that. That's why he ordered Alison to keep it secret from us."

"I know," John said. "I know."

"You should go to bed, you're exhausted."

"Yeah, you're right," he said and sat up. "Although I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep."

"I'll stay with you."

"I know," John said. "Thank you."

"I should apologize for rendering you unconscious."

"No, you did the right thing, Cam. I couldn't think straight."

She softly kissed his forehead. "I love you, John."

He hugged her tight and started crying. He cried the same way he had cried on that very couch two weeks ago. But this time not his mother but Cameron held him in her arms and comforted him. She felt that she did now what she should have done back then. They had finally come full circle.

-0-

After Sarah and John had gone to their bedrooms to get some sleep, Derek and Charley carried Jesse into Derek's room. She was still unconscious from the sedatives, but Derek insisted on staying with her anyway.

Downstairs, Catherine had switched on the TV and was watching the news with Lauren.

"What do they say?" Charley asked, coming downstairs again.

"What was to be expected," Catherine said. "Huge explosion in downtown L.A., office building collapsed, details unknown, assumed terrorist attack, FBI and Homeland Security on the case but no casualties so far. Basically, they're still completely in the dark."

"That's good, isn't it?" Lauren asked.

"The good thing is that thanks to the explosion no traces of the warhead or the terminators' bodies were left behind. Alison's power cell had a very high energy density. The blast radius isn't nearly as high as with a conventional nuclear explosion, but the initial heat exceeds two million degrees Celsius and evaporates everything in a 150-feet radius. It created a cavity under the Simdyne building, destroying the bunker and the sub levels and as a result made the building collapse."

"They will be able to piece it together, though, won't they?" Charley asked.

"Eventually they will," Catherine said. "But they'll have no idea how, why or who. They'll be able to tell it was some kind of nuclear explosion but unlike anything they have experienced so far. Since nobody was hurt, though, I think it won't generate such massive public waves. When they dig into the history of Simdyne, they might even conclude that it was an experiment gone awry."

Suddenly Catherine's cellphone rang. She looked at the number. It was Steve Goldman and he was using the encrypted connection.

"Yes, Steve?" she said after taking the call.

"Are you watching TV?" Goldman asked.

"I am," she replied.

"Was Sarah involved in that?"

"How did you get that idea?" Catherine asked.

"Hmm, let me think. Blowing up buildings of companies that are into the development of artificial intelligence but with only few or no human casualties. Kinda fits her M.O., don't you think?"

"Is that _your_ opinion or the opinion of your FBI colleagues?"

"It's my opinion. With Sarah being out of the system, it will be hard to make the connection. But some agents might remember her activities from the 1990's and find that not only did she disappear from the face of the Earth but also from all computer systems."

"Don't worry about that. If the FBI should try to review the old cases, we will have the means to counteract it."

"One day you have to tell me how you do that, Catherine."

"One day I might even show you."

"This is major, Catherine. All agents have been called to office. Jennifer already called me, we have order to report at work immediately. This might even endanger the _'Cell',_ if we're not very careful."

"We now have an advantage over them," Catherine said. "They're still flustered by what happened to their local Kaliba branch as well as to General Cooper. If they connect the Simdyne explosion to that - and they will -, they'll be even more flustered because they don't know anything about their enemy, only that it's an extremely powerful enemy who acts without leaving traces. We have the psychological advantage for now and should make use of it."

"I hope you're right, Catherine. We're dealing with people here who don't like to be in the defensive."

"We'll see."

"We should meet. All of us, I mean. Sarah, John, the girls, everyone. We need to have a war council of sorts. No more secrets and concealments and no more solo actions. We need to coordinate our efforts."

"Yes, you're right. I will think of a date and a location and then inform you."

"I'll be waiting for your message."

"Goodbye, Steve."

"Bye, Catherine."

-0-

John was restless. He rolled around in his bed and couldn't sleep. He thought over and over what happened and tried to find something he could have done differently to prevent it. But there was nothing. Future John had simply outsmarted them.

Cameron lay next to him but fully dressed and without hugging or caressing him. She just kept him company. She felt it would be wrong to do anything else right now. It wouldn't feel right to her, not so shortly after Alison's death. He would have to take the first step. Besides, she also was in grief. She lost her sister but did her best to hide her despair because right now her main concern was John and helping him getting over his loss. Her thoughts drifted towards the future. How would her relationship with John go on? Would it be the same or would it change, with one important part now missing?

She watched as John threw himself around again, apparently unable to get any sleep. He finally sat up.

"It's no use," he said. "I won't be able to sleep now, I'm too worked up. I might as well get up."

Cameron sat up next to him, putting her arm around him. He leaned his head against her shoulder.

"This feels better," he said. "Let's just sit here for a while."

John enjoyed the affinity. His gaze was directed downwards to the edge of the bed, he just stared there, lost in thought. Suddenly he frowned. There was a gap between the mattress and the bed frame. Cameron's weight had pushed down the mattress and made the gap visible. Something was stuck in there.

He shoved his hand into the gap and pulled out a metal tube, about four inches long and two inches wide.

"What's that?" Cameron asked.

"No idea," John said. "But someone must have stuffed it between the mattress and the bed frame."

John turned it in his hands and noticed a thin line going around the tube.

"It can be opened," he said and pulled on both ends but nothing happened.

"Try screwing it open," Cameron said.

He did, and it worked. Slowly he screwed the tube open and pulled the two halves apart. Inside was a piece of paper, wrapped around a cyborg's CPU.

"That's a TOK-700 chip!" Cameron exclaimed and grabbed it from John while he unfolded the piece of paper with shaking hands. There were several numbers and letters in handwriting on it.

"And these are geographical coordinates!" he said.

"John?" Cameron said in an alarmed tone that immediately got his attention. "This chip… it… it has my serial and model number on it: TOK-715."

"Could it be another model's…?"

"No!" Cameron said categorically. "It's identical to mine. See those tiny scratches? It's from your attempts to clean it after the car bomb. It's Alison's CPU."

"WHAT?" John shouted and jumped up. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, absolutely sure," she said and smiled.

"Let's gather the others. Quick!"

-0-

"What's the alarm?" Sarah asked, as she came down the stairs in her nightgown. Everyone else had already gathered in the living room, including Catherine and Derek.

"This!" John said triumphantly and placed the chip onto the couch table.

"A chip?" Sarah asked in puzzlement.

"Not _A_ chip. _HER_ chip!" John said.

"What?"

"Alison's chip!" Cameron said smiling. "John found it, hidden in our bed."

"How is that possible?" Sarah asked. "She was with us at Simdyne, she went into there and then…"

"I know, I know," John said. "It's a mystery. But there is no doubt. Cameron confirmed it. This is Alison's CPU!"

"But if that is Alison," Charley said. "Who was killed in the explosion?"

John looked at Cameron.

"Only one way to find out," she said, produced her switchblade knife from her pants pocket and handed it to John.

-000-

 _ **\- Final chapter to follow soon. I originally intended to make a two-parter finale but it got longer and longer while I was writing it and therefore decided to split it into three parts**_

 _ **\- Comments still always welcome ;-)**_


	29. Reinforcements

**Sunday morning, 06:45 a.m.**

Cameron lay down on the sofa, folding her arms over her belly.

"You still know where to cut?" she asked.

"Yes," John said. "And I still don't like it."

She smiled reassuringly.

Everyone else stood around them, watching in anticipation. Sarah and Charley had put their arms around each other, Derek chewed on his nails and Lauren had another gum in her mouth. Only Catherine seemed unaffected. She just had a faint smile on her face. One could only guess that she probably was proud of a cyborg outsmarting General John Connor.

"Okay, I'm making the incision now," John said.

He cut a semi-circle with a diameter of roughly ten centimeters on the right ride of her skull and pulled up her flesh and hair. He then reached for the screwdriver and removed the cap that kept the vacuum inside the CPU port. With a plop and a hiss, it came off. Lauren, who had never witnessed this procedure before, watched the scene with tense fascination.

John reached for the plyers, hesitated for a second, took a breath, then unlocked the CPU and pulled it out. For a moment, the chip was illuminated in blue light from inside her skull, then the light faded. They heard her systems power down and saw her body go limp, her eyes staring blankly into nothing.

"Man, this is creepy," Lauren said.

"Tell me about it," John replied.

He carefully put Cameron's chip into the metal tube and screwed it shut. Then he took Alison's chip and inserted it into Cameron's skull. He locked it, put the vacuum cap in place again and pushed her flesh and hair down again over the incision.

Inside his head, John was counting the fifteen seconds the booting process would take, then they heard her systems start with a high-pitched tone. With a slight jolt of her head she came alive and looked around.

"Allison?" John asked.

"Yes, John," she replied. "It's me. I'm fine."

Everyone let out a gasp of relief and laughter filled the room. Sarah and Charley hugged each other, Derek and Lauren smiled, and Catherine nodded appreciatively.

"We're at home," Alison stated and sat up. "It's Sunday morning. The attack is over?"

"Yes," John said.

She looked at a strand of her hair. "I'm in Cameron's body. So, my body was destroyed?"

"I'm afraid so," John said. "Christ, I cannot tell you how glad I am you are alive."

He pulled her into his arms and hugged her. She hugged him back and closed her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "I'm so terribly sorry."

"It's okay," John replied. "Everything is okay… now."

They stood up and Sarah was the first to hug Alison, then kissed her forehead. Charley hugged her, too, followed by Lauren and finally, after a slight awkward hesitation, Derek pulled her close and hugged her as well.

"I could use a drink now," Sarah said.

"Yeah, me too," Charley agreed.

"Make that three," Derek said.

They sat down on the table in the dining area, with a bottle of single malt Scotch and several bottles of beer.

"So," Sarah said to Alison, "why don't you put us out of our misery and tell us how you pulled that off?"

"I assume you pieced together Future John's plan by now?" Alison asked.

"Yes," John said sourly, "he turned your power cell into a bomb and used you to blow up Skynet and the Russian warhead before it could explode."

"Right," Alison said. "But we planned it together, so don't blame him alone."

"You really were willing to sacrifice yourself?" John said perplexed.

"To save millions of lives? Of course, John."

"So why are you alive then?" Derek asked. "What changed your mind? And more importantly: What was the magic trick?"

"Morris," she replied.

"What?" John said.

"Future Morris. Remember when he asked to speak to me alone before he died? Future Morris delivered me a message from the other Future John, _his_ Future John. The message was that I should make sure my CPU remained unharmed because Future John was planning to send reinforcement for our team. His Future John, Future Cameron and their tactical staff had come up with a plan."

"What plan?" John asked.

"I really don't know," she said, "he wasn't specific. Morris handed me the metal tube you found in our bed. He brought it through the time displacement field by carrying it in… um… his rectum."

"Eeeew… gross," Lauren said and everyone else grimaced.

"It contained a blank TOK-700 chip and instructions of how to clone my CPU. Morris didn't tell me how Future John was able to obtain that chip but that doesn't matter anymore."

"So, the Alison that died tonight, was in fact a clone of yours?" John asked.

"Yes," Alison confirmed. "On Tuesday, Catherine called us in Oregon, remember? I took the call inside the cabin after we had dealt with Andy and Mike."

"Uh... yes, I remember," John said and looked at Catherine. "She informed you about the visit she got from the police and that they were looking for a black Dodge RAM."

"The call didn't take as long as I was in the cabin," Alison said. "I used the opportunity of being separated from you to call John Henry."

"What?" Catherine said. "How did you get his number?"

"He gave it to us," Alison said. "He called us after our first meeting at Zeira Corp. We've stayed in contact ever since. He's very intrigued by us. I called him on Tuesday, sent him a scan of the instructions I got from Morris of how to clone my chip and arranged a meeting for Friday night. In the following three days he secretly built a device that allows a direct copy from chip to chip."

"Why the effort?" Derek asked. "Couldn't you have simply made a backup of yourself on a hard drive?"

"Future John probably tried that with Cameron's chip at first," John said. "I assume the data was still there but the essence of what makes her a living being, got lost on the way. Life is more than just bits and bytes, Derek. A direct clone from chip to chip was probably the only way to make sure we wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the original chip and the clone."

"Exactly, John," Alison agreed. "We know each other too well by now. You would have noticed something was wrong and would have become suspicious. But the plan needed you all to be oblivious until the end."

"So, when you said you were going to visit Eric at the library…"

"… I was there for just a minute to return the blueprints and then headed straight on towards Zeira Corp," she said nodding. "It took almost five hours to complete the clone. John Henry pulled out my original chip and inserted the clone into my body. That's where my memories end. Next thing I remember is waking up in Cameron's body on the couch fifteen minutes ago."

"A quite elaborate plan," Sarah said. "It only has one crucial problem: We now have two chips but only one body. I suppose everyone agrees that it's highly impractical for you to share one body."

"I don't think that was Future John's idea," John said. "Future Morris said something about a _'reinforcement for our team'_ and having only one cyborg would be the exact opposite. I believe he sent a new body."

"To where?" Catherine said. "And when?"

John pulled out the piece of paper he had found together with Alison's CPU in the metal tube and showed it to Alison.

"Was that in there as well, when Morris gave it to you?"

"Yes," Cameron replied.

"I'm gonna get my laptop."

John stood up and quickly went into their bedroom, coming back a moment later with his laptop. While it booted, he looked at the paper again.

"Is that my handwriting?" he asked.

"Yes," Alison said. "Future John has written that."

"Excellent," he said and started the program.

"So, let's see… 34°16'17.01"N and 117°43'39.21"W."

"Where is it?" Sarah asked.

"In the San Gabriel Mountains," John said and zoomed in.

"Are you sure that's the right location, John?" Charley asked. "There are no roads there. Only wilderness."

"The perfect place to hide something," John replied, then suddenly started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Sarah asked.

"Oh yes, I'm positively sure those are the right coordinates," he said triumphantly and chuckled, "You're gonna like this."

He turned the laptop around for everyone to see.

"Look at the name of the canyon next to that position."

"Allison Gulch!" Derek asked flabbergasted.

"And the exact location also has a name," John said and zoomed further in.

"Allison Mine!" Sarah exclaimed. "My God, you're right, John."

"There's a book about mines in and around Los Angeles," Alison said and jumped up. "I catalogued all the books here."

"Of course, you did," Sarah said with a smile.

Alison came back with a large book and put it on the table. She flipped through the pages, until…

"Here!" she said. "Allison Mine. An abandoned gold mine in the San Gabriel Mountains. Very difficult to reach. About five miles from the next road."

"So…" John said. "How about some quest for gold on a Sunday?"

-0-

During breakfast their low spirit had completely vanished. Everyone was happy that Alison was alive and the relief that the outcome of their nightly venture seemed to turn into a happy ending after all, was almost palpable.

After some consideration, it was decided that John and Alison would do the hiking trip alone, taking Cameron with them in the metal tube as well as some clothes from her wardrobe. Charley needed to stay with Jesse, Derek didn't want to leave her side as well and Lauren had to take care of Sydney.

Then there was the fact that because Charley, Lauren and James had used the van for transporting Jesse back home last night, their Suburban still stood in the multi-story carpark in West Hollywood. Someone had to drive the van there, drop off Catherine and come back with the Suburban. The only one left for doing that, was Sarah, which left John and Alison on their own. Also, John had gotten at least some sleep before they departed last night, so he was relatively the fittest – and full of adrenaline.

"The terrain is rough," he said after some research on the internet and studying reports from other hikers' websites. "No trail leading up to the mine, very steep terrain, lots of wild vegetation, loose rocks and gravel, plus a river to cross several times."

"Don't worry, John," Alison said. "If the terrain gets too rough, I will simply carry you. Will be a lot faster as well."

"I'm having a strange vision now," Derek said chuckling, "of a young girl sprinting through a canyon, jumping from rock to rock, carrying a young man on her arms."

"Ooh," Charley said wincing, "it will be hard to get that picture out of my head again." He chuckled as well.

"It would generate lots of clicks on YouTube," Lauren said and sniggered.

"You're just envious because you don't have girlfriends or boyfriends who are willing or able to carry you on their arms," John said grinning. "Which reminds me…"

He leaned over to Alison and kissed her long and deeply. Everyone else whooped.

"That was about time," Alison said huskily when he broke the kiss, smiled, grabbed his head and pulled him to her lips again. They didn't let go of each other for several minutes.

"Get a room," Derek finally said, cleaning his throat, and everyone chuckled.

"I would love to," Alison said with a wink. "But we should prepare to leave now."

-0-

They packed two backpacks with clothing, water and energy bars for John. Alison also bagged her Glocks and a pickax. Both dressed in shorts, tee shirts and hiking boots, taking sunglasses and baseball caps with them. John also applied sun blocker on his skin and Derek gave them the wrist-mounted GPS navigator he had bought for his long cross-country runs. It would help them pinpoint the exact location in the mountainous area.

"I don't know if we'll have cellphone reception in the canyons," John said. "So, don't worry when we don't contact you for some time."

Sarah nodded. "We'll be waiting for you here."

"I will return later, too," Catherine said. "I'll just go home to make sure Savannah is alright. I think when John and the girls have returned from retrieving the body, this evening calls for a celebration, don't you think? After all, we might have prevented Judgement Day indefinitely."

"You can celebrate," Derek said, "I'll remain at Jesse's side."

"She'll make it," Charley said. "The bullet is out and all it takes now, is her will to survive. In a way, her injury mirrors what had happened to you when we first met."

"And I think we should wait with celebrating before it's clear that there are three of you returning and not just two," Sarah said. "I hope Future You knew what he was doing."

"I hope so, too," John said. "But it really can't be anything else but a new body for Alison."

They said their goodbyes, mounted Lauren's Jeep and drove off.

"What a lucky turn of events," Charley said, standing on the terrace.

"Yeah," Sarah said. "I hope it lasts. Over the years, I've learned to be careful with optimism."

"Does John know about hiking?" Charley asked.

"Oh yes. We used to hike a lot in the Mexican jungle, so he'll be alright."

"I really hope so. It would be quite ironic if we came out of all this unharmed and then he breaks his leg or something."

"Don't worry," Derek said. "Alison wasn't only joking when she said she would carry him."

"I know," Sarah said smiling and realized she was actually proud of that girl.

-0-

Alison drove the Jeep while John programmed the car's sat nav.

"The closest we can get to the canyon, is a parking lot about 5 miles southwest of it," he said. "Sat nav says we'll need one hour and twenty minutes to get there, which means we'll be there around 09:30 a.m. Seems to be the starting point for a lot of hikers."

"I still don't understand why people have fun with walking around for no purpose."

"It's about enjoying nature, getting away from civilization, finding your own borders and overcome them, making yourself feel like the early pioneers."

"And they're doing that by using high tech equipment like GPS receivers?"

"Yeah, sounds a bit silly, doesn't it?"

"A bit."

She was quiet for a moment. Then she looked at him. "Would you like to tell me about last night while we drive there?"

"Sure."

And he began telling her about the attack in detail. When he reached the point when her clone locked herself into the computer facility with Future John, tears began running down her face.

"You alright?" John asked.

"I'm so sorry for causing you so much pain," she said. "I really wish I could have told you."

"Future John never knew you had made a clone of yourself, right?"

She shook her head. "No. he didn't need to know."

"I'm proud of you, Alison." He kissed her on her cheek.

"My clone was identical to me," she said. "She died for us."

"I know," John said. "But she knew everything would be alright. She made hints, but I thought it was just talk to calm me down."

"You were lucky to find that metal tube so quickly. What if you would have needed a week to find it? Or a month? Or maybe never? I keep asking me that and can't imagine the pain and grief you would have gone through."

"She must have put it there on Saturday morning, after she returned from Zeira Corp. I surprised her with being awake. She probably planned to put it somewhere else. Apart from that, what-if questions are never suited for musing about," John said. "We're back together. That's all that counts."

She smiled at him. "I love you, John."

"I love you, too." He took her hand and held it.

They left the Interstate 210 in Duarte and zig-zagged their way through Azusa until they reached the San Gabriel Canyon Road. Just after they had left the city behind, a traffic jam stopped them.

"Accident?" John asked.

"No," Alison said, who had zoomed in to what happened further ahead. "Police road block."

"Damn," he said. "I should have known. They probably installed road blocks on all outward roads."

"We've got nothing to worry about, John," Alison said. "We're just two teenage lovers on their way to a Sunday hiking trip in the mountains."

"You're right," he said, "but it costs us time."

It took them twenty minutes to get to the road block. A police officer looked inside their Jeep, he checked their papers, they told him they wanted to go hiking, then he waved them through.

"I suppose I never really thought about the aftermath," John said. "We're responsible for a nuclear explosion in downtown L.A. This is major headlines all over the world, probably the biggest story since 9/11."

"We're also responsible for avoiding a catastrophe of biblical proportions," Alison said. "Nobody was killed in our attack, if you leave Future John and Adam Jacobson aside. But if we wouldn't have done it…"

"I know," John said. "I know. Nevertheless, we should really keep a low profile for the next weeks and maybe months."

"We'll find something to keep ourselves occupied with. A hobby or something. And lots and lots of fucking and sucking." She smiled at him mischievously and his dick twitched.

"Oh, now that you mention it," John said. "You girls founded a cooking club, the owners want to sell the house and Kacy knows you're cyborgs."

"What?" she said. "When did that happen?"

He told her the story about the new kitchen stuff and the pool outside and how Cameron ran into Kacy while carrying the stove. When he had ended, Alison laughed out loud.

"What's so funny?" he asked and had to resist laughing as well.

"I just imaged you all standing there, telling Kacy that ridiculous story," she said chuckling. "I don't know if I could have mustered the self-control not to laugh."

"It wasn't so funny when it happened but looking back, yeah…" John said and smiled. "It's kinda hysterical."

"So, we will buy the house, yes?"

"Yes."

"Great. Cam and I will have lots of work to do with renovating, restoring, extending the house…"

John laughed. "Don't count your chickens before they're hatched."

"Come on, be a little more optimistic, John," she said gleefully, "You're starting to sound like my Future John."

"Oh, I definitely don't want that," he said.

She nudged him. He nudged her back. Then they broke out into laughter. She pulled over and stopped at the side of the road.

"Why...?" John started asking

"Kissing break," she said and before he could react, she had already pulled him close was French kissing him passionately.

Ten minutes later they resumed their drive. They passed two water reservoirs and finally came to the junction, where the East Fork Road started, which would lead them to the parking lot. They passed over a bridge. The river below was not carrying much water.

The sat nav told them that they were still half a mile away from the East Fork parking lot, when parked cars started to line the road on both sides.

John sighed. "I guess we won't be alone."

"Nobody's going to climb up to Allison Mine, though," Alison said. "Future John knew what he was doing. Only a few people per year dare going up there but most of them turn around before they reach it. It is considered very risky."

"Thanks for the pep talk," John said ironically.

They reached the parking lot. It was already full, as John had feared. But they had luck. An elderly couple just left in their Toyota Prius. The man limped.

"Their bad luck is our good fortune," Alison said and steered the pickup-truck into the gap.

Alison put on her reflective sunglasses, pulled her hair back and stuffed it through the opening on the back of her baseball cap.

"How do I look?" she asked.

"Like a 1970's airline pilot."

She stretched out her tongue but chuckled. John also put on his sunglasses and his baseball cap and left the car. They shouldered their backpacks and started walking, together with at least a dozen others who went the same way along the valley of the East Fork River.

At first, the trail was flat and developed, then, after a mile, it turned into a narrow path with rocks and trees on both sides. As predicted, they had to cross the river several times on their way. When they finally reached the fork into Allison Gulch, it was almost noon and John took a short break to drink some water and eat two of the energy bars. They sat down on a big rock and enjoyed the silence.

"Do you hear that?" he asked her.

"I don't hear anything," she said confused. "Just the distant sound of water running in the river."

"Exactly. You can practically hear the silence."

"What do you mean?"

"We've gotten so used to the noises of civilization that we consciously don't hear them anymore. Our brains fade them out. Only when they're gone we realize how omnipresent they were. If you took a man from the mid-19th century and put him into the center of L.A. today, he'd go insane, just because of the noise."

"A terminator could adjust," she said. "We perceive sounds differently."

"Probably. But what would a terminator do in the 19th century, hm?"

"Analyzing its situation and then power down, waiting for the time to pass by. Our energy cells last for about 150 years."

"Okay, I can see that this discussion is hopeless with a cyborg."

"I understand your fondness of nature, though," she said. "I share it."

"You do?"

"Yes. The power of life, the force of evolution, the sheer endless varieties nature has come up with in the past billion years, the geological forces that shaped this planet… I feel small in comparison."

"But you do realize that in a way, you are the peak of evolution, right?"

"Am I?" she asked and looked thoughtfully into the distance. "When I consider how much computing power I need to just wiggle my fingers," she held up her hands and wiggled all ten fingers, "and compare it with the agility of an insect like a centipede with its tiny, tiny brain… then suddenly I don't feel like the peak of evolution anymore."

"Maybe you are the first of your kind. Maybe the evolution of artificial life really starts with you and in a hundred or a thousand years your species will have shed their human form and will have evolved into something completely new and different."

"Hopefully without wiping out other life forms... or destroying the Earth," she said.

He looked at her and considered what they had just talked about. Since when had she become philosophical? She noticed his gaze.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said. "I was just thinking again of how proud I am of you."

She smiled. "And I'm proud to be your woman, John."

They kissed again.

"Shall we proceed?" she asked.

"Yup," he said and rose.

It was only one-and-a-half miles to the mine from their position, but the trail became rougher, less developed and much, much steeper, with much more vegetation on both sides.

"We should have brought a machete," John said. "This is nuts."

Nearing their destination, the trail became so steep that John almost had to use his hands on the ground. They had to be careful because the slope was covered in gravel and loose rocks and getting grip was difficult. One wrong step and either one of them would slide down in a small avalanche of stones.

Finally, the ground levelled out and the GPS receiver announced they had almost reached their destination. They saw a couple of decayed wooden buildings and several caves that lead into the mountain.

"Alright," John said, caught his breath and enjoyed the view from up there for a moment. "So far, so good. Now where do we start looking?"

Alison scanned the area. "I'm picking up nothing in the vicinity. Also, I see no scorch marks anywhere or other tell-tale signs of a time bubble."

"A puzzle then." John said. "I hate puzzles."

"Imagine you were Future John and you wanted to send a body back in time – a lifeless body that couldn't move on its own and needs to be found but only by someone who knows it's there. What would you do?"

"I dunno. Can a time bubble form within solid rock?"

"A time bubble can form anywhere," Alison said. "Depending on how the TDE is configured. The one we used to get to 2007, was improvised with materials from the 1960's. Therefore, we couldn't change the location. We stayed where the bank vault had been."

"But a full-fledged TDE from the year 2030…"

"… can transport you anywhere. You simply enter the coordinates and the altitude above sea level. Only forming it within solid rock makes no sense, because there's no way out. Unless…"

"… unless you just want to send a body through time that doesn't need to breathe or eat or drink and can wait for years and years to be freed."

"We should check the rock face for hidden cavities."

Alison unpacked her pickax and started hacking it softly against the rock face that lay closest to the provided coordinates. She then listened for unusual resonances.

"Here!" she said after a moment. "There's a cavity behind here, about a foot behind the rock face."

"This is granite. Where's the C4 when you need it?" John asked.

"We don't need explosives. Do you see these fissures, John? The time bubble has very likely weakened the structural integrity of the rock when it formed and there have been lots of small earthquakes in the past years. The stone is rather brittle now."

"What's your plan?"

"Step back."

He stepped ten feet back from the rock face. Alison rammed her pickax into a crevice in the rock with all her power. Sparks flew in all directions, as the pickax embedded itself into the stone right up to where it was mounted to the handle.

She pulled it out again and rammed it into another crevice, slightly higher than the first time. Then a third blow. The pickax had suffered heavily by now and was quite dull and bent. Finally, with a fourth blow, the rock face crumbled and an opening appeared.

John quickly pulled out his cellphone and activated the flashlight. He shone inside and looked through the hole.

"I don't believe it, we found her!" he exclaimed.

"Let me see," Alison said and looked inside as well. There, in a spherical cavity with perfectly smooth walls, squatted a naked female body, with its head hanging down and her arms folded around her legs.

Alison widened the opening with her hands until it was big enough. Then she reached inside, pulled the body out into the light and leaned it against the rock face.

"Wow," John said, as he looked at the body. "I mean… wow!"

"She looks different," Alison said, almost a little disappointed.

"What did you expect?" John said. "You heard Future Morris. Alison Young is alive and well in the future, so Skynet could never model a terminator after her."

"She's beautiful, though," Alison said.

"That's an understatement," John said. "She's absolutely stunning."

The female body they had pulled out of the cavity, was taller than Cameron's body, with long, black hair that reached almost down to her waist, dark brown eyes and a face that was both stunningly beautiful and heartwarmingly cute at the same time.

She had nicely toned skin with almost no blemishes, shapely legs, a well-formed, slim but slightly curvaceous figure, a slight muscle tone that pronounced her abs, a well-rounded butt and very nicely shaped breasts that weren't huge but big enough to clearly stand out on her narrow frame. All in all, she looked like a mixture between a top model, a movie star and a man's wet dream – as if somebody had consciously created a female body so perfect that it could only be intended to drive men crazy. It was difficult to estimate her age, but John thought she looked more like twenty or twenty-two and would hardly go through as a teenager anymore, especially with that rack.

"34D," Alison said with a smile.

"What?"

"You were wondering how big they are. 34D. And she's 5'9" tall. Damn, my clothes won't fit, I will need to go shopping tomorrow. Same shoe size, though. At least I can keep my boots."

John looked at the body in undeniable fascination.

"You like her," Alison said. It wasn't a question.

"Are you kidding me?" he said, "She's an absolute dream."

"Then… you will still love me when I'm in there?"

John scoffed. "Alison, I would even love you if you were in the body of an old hag."

"Cam might become jealous, though."

"As far as we know, Future John picked that body together with Future Cameron. So hopefully she won't be jealous. I'll treat both of you equally, like I have done so far."

"I'm actually kinda excited," Alison said, sounding a little nervous.

"What model is she? Can you tell?"

"No. Whatever she is, it's something new. I can't scan beneath her skin. I can only tell she generates warmth, which means she is in standby mode."

"Standby? Does she have a chip then?"

"No idea. But for the time travel to work, the tissue must be alive. Hence the standby mode."

"Frankly my hands are shaking a bit, Alison. Can you check her CPU port for me?"

"Of course, John."

Alison pulled out the switchblade knife and began cutting at the usual spot. She pulled up the skin and flesh.

"There's no CPU port here," she said. "And she does have a strange-looking endoskeleton. It's black, not silver."

"Wh… what?" John said. "But how are we going to insert your chip then?"

"I don't know. As I already mentioned, I can't scan her."

She let go of the piece of skin she had pulled up. The wound closed immediately and left no trace of the cut.

"Whoa, have you seen that?" John asked.

"Yes," Alison said. "Intriguing. The wound healed within a second."

"Hand me the knife," John said and Alison held it out to him.

He took it, knelt and made a small incision on her right thigh. The cut closed immediately behind the blade, leaving no trace. He made a deeper cut, it also healed in an instant with no signs of blood, scab or scarring.

"That's impressive," John said. He was trying to stand up again but slightly lost his balance and touched the female body's skin. The body immediately jerked slightly. _"Genetic match detected. John Connor,"_ it said in a very machine-like voice.

John startled, and Alison tilted her head. They saw how a crevice formed around the face, as if an invisible surgeon was making an incision all around her head. Then, with a clicking sound, the complete front of her head, including her face, her eyes, her nose and her jaw, sprung forward for about an inch and swung to the side. Behind it, they saw a shiny black surface with the familiar shape of a CPU port cap in the middle.

"Wow," John said again.

"That's a whole new design," Alison said astonished. "Based on no previous model."

"Becoming eager to get in there?" John asked grinning.

"I am," Alison replied.

John opened the CPU port. Like expected, it sprung open with a plop and a hiss.

"There's a chip in there," he said. Shall I pull it out?"

"Do it," Alison said.

John took the pliers, turned the chip a half turn clockwise and pulled it out. They heard the system power down.

"Okay, that at least hasn't changed," he said.

"It's a TOK-700 slot," Alison said with relief. "So, mine will fit in there."

"But what kind of chip is this?" John asked and looked at it closely.

Alison took and studied it. "A dummy," she said. "Made to fit into all terminator models. It contains no higher functions, it only keeps the system active, so the flesh doesn't start to rot. Skynet used these to stockpile cyborgs after production. The chips with the A.I. were produced in a separate factory."

"Awesome," John said. "Future John and Cameron had it really thought through."

John went to his backpack and pulled out the metal tube.

"Shall we first put Cameron back into her body again?" he asked.

"Yes," Alison said and sat down next to her new body.

She removed her sun glasses and her baseball cap. John opened her CPU port again and pulled out Alison's chip. She powered down. He then inserted Cameron's chip back in again. After 15 seconds, the reboot was complete.

"Welcome back," he said and kissed her. She kissed him back. Then she stood up and looked around.

"Wow, the scenery has improved. Nice view," Cameron commented and John wasn't sure if she referred to the landscape or Alison's new body.

He gave her a summary of what had happened since the morning. Cameron looked at Alison's new body. She tilted her head.

"She's gorgeous," she finally said.

"She is, isn't she?"

"I've never seen anything like her. She's stunningly beautiful."

"So… you like her?"

"Are you kidding me, John? I'm already falling in love with her. And it's Alison. Put her in already. What are you waiting for?"

"With a sigh of relief, John inserted Alison's chip into her new body and sealed the port cap again."

They waited. Nothing happened. The 15 seconds passed, then 30 seconds, then 40. They were getting nervous.

"Maybe…" John started saying but then, after an agonizing 45 seconds, they heard Alison power up. The front of her face moved back into its original position and the crevice around her head disappeared like the cuts John had tried to make. She focused and looked at John.

"This feels a bit weird," Alison said and stood up, stretching out her arms, looking at her hands. "But cool."

Her voice was still as sexy and sensual as Cameron's but a little deeper pitched. She smiled brightly at them with a doe-eyed expression. It would have melted the heart of even the most cold-hearted individual on Earth. John's knees were almost giving in from that smile.

All three of them felt this was a very emotional moment and tears formed in their eyes. They hugged, overjoyed from being together, from finally being whole again.

"I… I'm so…" Alison said to Cameron.

"It's okay, sis," Cameron said. "I know what you wanna say. You don't need to. Everything's forgiven."

Then Alison looked at John.

"So, do you… do you like me like this?" she asked.

Instead of answering, John pulled her close and kissed her. She kissed him back. She tasted different but good. He felt her breasts pressing against his chest. _"I can get used to this sensation,"_ he thought. He looked into her face and took it in. He swallowed hard and then kissed her again.

With relief, he noted that it felt right to hold and kiss her. Despite her new looks, it was still Alison he was holding and somehow, he could feel that. He motioned Cameron to join them and together they hugged in silence for a while.

"We're back together," John finally said and the girls nodded. Then he looked at Alison. "That was an awfully long reboot."

"Yes," she said. "My chip and the body needed to make some basic adjustments before the system could boot. It seems like this model was originally build for another type of chip and got modified to fit a TOK-700 CPU."

"But… everything's alright now, right?" John asked.

"Oh yes, everything's alright now. This model is a TOL-900," she said. "There are so many things new about it that it will take very long to inform you about everything."

"Can you give a summary?" John said.

"Let's see… the endoskeleton is made of a new ceramic compound. It's partly organic and metal detectors won't be triggered by it anymore. It's a lot harder than a coltan endoskeleton and has an even higher melting point. Thermite won't be able to harm this one anymore and I assume even Catherine's terminator guns are ineffective against this material."

"Cool," John said. "What else?"

"The power cell is based on nuclear fusion and is much more efficient. Physical strength has increased by 140 percent. That means I can easily overpower a triple-eight now."

"That's a huge improvement," Cameron agreed. "140 percent? You could probably throw a tank. We should start calling you _'The Hulk.'_ "

Everyone chuckled.

"Oh… and the skin is designed to work like a Faraday cage," Alison continued. "I'm immune to electric shocks or EMP now. That is also why I couldn't scan this body with Cameron's sensors."

"Neat," John said.

"But I think the most interesting and most groundbreaking advancement is the use of nanobots for self-repair."

"Nanobots?" John asked. "You mean microscopic machines?"

"Yes, my body is saturated with tens of billions of them and can produce more anytime. They act automatically with swarm intelligence when they detect a damage but are also connected and controlled by my conscious mind, which means I can program them. You have seen how quickly they can heal a wound."

"Now I understand what Future Morris meant when he talked about sending us _'reinforcement'_ ," John said.

"It's also worrying," Cameron said. "The dummy chip indicated that the resistance has stolen this model directly from the production line. If Skynet put them into mass production…"

"… the resistance would be in deep trouble," John finished and nodded. "Let's hope we really prevented that from happening now."

"I should get dressed," Alison said, "if the clothes we brought fit me, that is."

"You'll have a problem with the tee shirt with those boobies, sis," Cameron said and fondled Alison's breasts. They both sniggered and John just looked with a smile.

"You know you can play with my tits whenever want, John," Alison said, noticing his grin.

John fondled her breasts and felt the nipples getting hard. "Really nice," he said.

"Yes, it is," Alison said with a gasp.

"I'm looking forward to having sex with both of you tonight," Cameron said with a smirk. "But now we should get off this mountain."

They unpacked the clothing they brought. The shoes were no problem, neither were the panties or the shorts because they were able to stretch enough. They didn't bring a bra, though, and the tee shirt was too small. It would cover Alison's breasts but leave a bare midriff.

"I'm afraid I'm gonna tear it apart when I pull it further down," Allison said. "And I'm sure going to look like a hooker with my bouncing tits."

"I have an idea," John said, pulled off his tee shirt and handed it over to Alison. It fit over her breasts and into the waistband of her shorts. She wiggled her torso. Her breasts were still all over the place but not as bad as before.

"I guess you'll be okay as long as you're not jogging," Cameron said. "But what about you, John?"

"Hand me her tee shirt please."

He put it on. It fit but just barely and pink definitely wasn't his color. But it would have to do.

"Nobody will notice a guy with an awkward looking tee shirt when two such incredibly beautiful girls walk next to him," he said with a wink.

"Aww," both girls said in return and kissed him.

Suddenly Alison sniggered.

"What?" Cameron asked.

"I just imagined mom's face when I enter the house with these unrestricted babies."

"She'll probably faint," John said.

"So will Derek," Cameron added and all of them laughed.

Cameron helped Alison form a three-strand braid with her long hair, which lead to a comment from John that she now looked like Lara Croft. Then Cameron put on her baseball cap and her sunglasses again. They threw away the broken pickax, grabbed their backpacks and began the descent

-0-

The way down was a lot easier than the way up and John could now trust in two cyborgs catching him before he fell, which made him more confident.

After half an hour, they had reached the junction of the two canyons and joined with the other hikers again. Alison drew the eyes of every man on her, which inevitably also produced a lot of disapproving looks from their respective female companions. Also, there seemed to be an increasing number of men running into trees or tripping over rocks, when they saw her.

"You're drawing quite some attention, sis," Cameron whispered to her.

"I haven't yet decided if I like that or not," Alison whispered back.

"Take it as a compliment," John said, put his arm around her and gave her a quick kiss. "Just to make all the other men envious", he said.

Cameron just shook her head and slapped his butt. "Men..." she muttered but smiled.

Eventually they reached Lauren's Jeep again.

"What time is it?" John asked.

"2:45 p.m.," Alison said. "We made good pace."

John drank some water and pulled out his phone.

"We have reception here," he said, "weak but enough for a call."

He dialed his mother's number and activated the loudspeaker. It didn't even take two seconds until the call was answered.

"Are you okay?" Sarah asked immediately.

"Yes, we're all okay," John replied. "Cameron's with me."

"Hi mom!" Cameron said.

"And here's someone else who wants to say hi to you."

"Hi mom," Alison said. "Everything's alright, as I promised you in the bunker."

Sarah didn't answer.

"You okay, mom?" Alison asked again.

"Yes…" Sarah said and they realized she must have shed some tears on the other end and just regained control over her voice again. "You… you sound different."

"I have a new body, I look different now. It's a long story. We'll be home in less than 90 minutes."

"Okay, we're all waiting for you."

"Love you, mom," Alison said.

"Love you, too," Sarah replied. "All of you."

"That should release tensions at home and soften the shock of seeing you for the first time," John said as he pocketed his cellphone. "Now let's get the hell home. I need some rest, I'm finished, my legs hurt and I'm gonna go into the backseat to close my eyes. Who wants to drive?"

John held out the car keys.

"I know the way," Alison said and grabbed the keys before Cameron could.

"But you have no driver's license anymore!" Cameron protested but it was no use. Alison had already entered the driver's seat.

John just shrugged. "Just make sure you don't kill anyone if we get stopped," he said, climbed into the back seat and almost immediately fell asleep. Sulking, Cameron entered the front passenger seat, still wearing her baseball cap and the sunglasses.

They were lucky. The road block they had encountered on the way there, was only for outgoing traffic, not for incoming and so they made good progress. Suddenly, though, John was awoken by the car coming to a sharp halt.

"What's the matter?" he asked drowsily. "Police road block?"

"No, accident," Cameron replied. "Directly ahead."

"Fifteen cars in front of us," Alison said. "A semi changed lanes and rammed another car into the guard rail, then skidded across the highway, fell over and blocks the traffic now. The car has caught fire. There are five people inside. Two adults, three children."

"Oh my God, are they getting out? Is there anyone to… hey, hey, hey, Cameron, what are you doing?"

Cameron had unbuckled and left the car, running towards the scene of the accident. John unbuckled as well and followed her. "You stay in the car!" he told Alison and ran after Cameron. She was already more than a hundred feet ahead of him. John's muscles were sore from the long hiking trip and he had trouble walking at a fast pace so immediately after the rest.

The family was trapped in their burning car, which was pressed against the guard rail and left only one side to escape. So far, the fire was only in the engine bay, but it would spread fast for sure. People tried to open the doors, but they were jammed. As the fire started getting bigger, the helpers retracted from the burning car, fearing for their own lives, while the trapped family inside screamed for help.

Cameron didn't back away, though. She ran towards she car, stopped, assessed the situation, then smashed the window of the driver's door, grabbed the door frame and pulled the whole door off the car.

The bystanders gasped loudly.

"Great," John said and stopped. "Just great." He pulled the baseball cap deeper into his face.

Cameron pulled out the driver, a young man. He could walk away with a limp. The co-driver, a young woman, couldn't get her seatbelt unbuckled. Cameron simply snapped it apart and pulled the woman off the car. By now several of the bystanders had started filming everything with their cellphones.

"Oh fuck!" John exclaimed.

"My children!" she woman shouted, who limped towards her husband. "Get my children!"

"I'm about to, please remain calm," Cameron replied and ripped the roof off the B-pillar, then bent it down, ripped it off with the back door still attached to it, throwing everything about fifty feet down the hard shoulder. Cameron reached inside and pulled the children out, one after the other. They immediately ran towards their parents.

Cameron turned around and saw John standing sixty feet away. He made a motion with his hands that expressed _"What now?"_. She considered her situation, looked at the dozens of people who stared at her with gaping mouths, some of them holding a cellphone in her direction, then she simply jumped over the railing and disappeared into the undergrowth fifteen feet below the freeway. People started running towards the guard rail, but she seemed to have disappeared.

Meanwhile, the fire had engulfed the whole car and sirens could be heard coming closer from behind. John returned to the Jeep.

"Where did she go?" Alison asked, as he took place in the passenger seat.

"Jumped off the highway," John said. "Thankfully she was still wearing her sunglasses and the baseball cap, that might make it impossible to identify her."

His cellphone rang. It was Cameron's number.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" John yelled.

"I'm sorry, John, but those people would have died without my help," Cameron replied.

"Where are you? Where are _we_ anyway?"

"Pasadena, Ventura Freeway," Alison said.

"I'm in a residential area now," Cameron said, "going north, getting away from the freeway to find a spot where you can pick me up."

"Stay hidden," John said. "We're going to get you as soon as we've gotten out of here."

He ended the call.

"Just when I thought everything was turning out well and we could finally have some peace," he said.

-0-

It took another thirty minutes before the police had arrived and arranged for the traffic to pass. As they passed the site of the accident, John could see that the family Cameron had saved was being treated by paramedics in an ambulance. Several witnesses talked to police officers, making wild gestures. A helicopter from a local TV station was hovering in the air.

"Not good," John muttered, "not good at all."

"She did the right thing, John," Alison said. "She acted heroically."

"Yeah," John scoffed. "I can already see the headlines: _'Mystery girl with supernatural powers saves family. Do superheroes exist for real?'_ or something like that.

"I would have done the same," Alison said. "Calm down, John. With a bit of luck, she won't be identified."

"Oh, I know many people who will recognize her," John said. "Starting with A for Andy, E for Eric, J for Jennifer, K for Kacy, M for Mike and Morris, N for Nick and S for Steve."

"They won't tell anyone," Alison said.

"Not to mention that it will tell everyone at Kaliba and any insider in the military that there's a female cyborg on the loose in L.A."

"When Jordan Cowan jumped from the roof, I kept you from helping her and you blamed me for the death of the girl. You must decide what you want, John: Do you want us to value life and put it over anything else, no matter the consequences? Or do you want us to be indifferent about the lives of other people and only protect you and the family?"

Suddenly, John felt bad. She was right of course. Cameron jumped out of the car to save lives. She had learned to value life and that is basically what he had wanted from the very start of their relationship.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Of course, you're right. She did the right thing. What was I thinking?"

"You're stressed, John. You need to get your head clear. Call her. We need to pick her up as quickly as possible."

John nodded and did as she suggested.

They picked up Cameron fifteen minutes later at a fast food restaurant on Foothill Boulevard in Altadena. She had managed to walk four miles from the interstate, passing the Rose Bowl Stadium, crossing a golf course and passing through residential neighborhoods to avoid being followed or recognized. John hugged her, and she hugged him back.

"You ok?" he asked.

"Just a few scratches from jumping into the bushes," she said. "I'm sorry for causing trouble."

"Bullshit, you did the right thing," John said. "Let's get home, the others will wait already. I informed mom that we got held up by a car accident."

"You're not upset?" she asked.

"I was at first but then I started to think clearly. Now I'm just proud of you."

She smiled, and both entered the car.

"We have to get rid of this car," Alison said. "If cameras caught which car Cameron came from…"

"I know," John said. "But at least we were still wearing sunglasses and baseball caps. Lauren's not gonna like it, though. The car is the last link to her parents."

-0-

They arrived home half an hour later. They had decided to take the long way around, north of the Verdugo Mountains and through La Tuna Canyon, entering Burbank from the Northwest. Alison made sure she avoided as may traffic cameras as possible. She still had the locations stored in her memory from the time when she had invaded the city's traffic computer eight months ago.

As they came to stop in the front yard of the Connor home, they were already expected by a welcoming party, consisting of Sarah, Lauren, Catherine and James Ellison, who apparently had returned for the reunification. Charley and Derek were missing, though.

"I'm actually a bit nervous," Alison said.

"No need to be," John said.

John was the first to leave the Jeep, followed by Cameron. They walked around the car. John hugged his mom, Cameron did the same, but everyone only stared at the person in the driver's seat. Finally, Alison took heart and left the car.

James Ellison's jaw dropped. Lauren gasped loudly and covered her mouth with her hands.

Catherine Weaver smiled broadly.

Sarah just looked in shock. "Alison…?" she asked a little insecure.

"Yes, mom," Alison replied nervously, "I guess it's not what you expected?"

A smile crept on Sarah's face that got bigger and bigger. Then both hugged tightly. John saw that his mom was on the verge of tears again. The great big hug immediately eased the tension, and everyone welcomed Alison back.

"Oh my God, you are so beautiful," Lauren said and they embraced as well.

"Future John sent us quite a surprise," Catherine Weaver said. "I'm unable to scan your body, my dear. What model are you?"

"TOL-900," John said before Alison could reply. "It seems like Future John sent us the best and latest Skynet could come up with."

Catherine raised an eyebrow. "I've never heard of such a model."

"She's brand-new," John said.

"Stop talking about her like a piece of merchandise," Sarah said. "She's our Alison and she's back from the dead."

"Woohooo!" Lauren shouted, and everyone laughed.

"Now let's go inside," Sarah said and everyone walked towards the house.

"Where are the others?" John asked.

"Derek and Charley are with Jesse," Sarah said. "Unfortunately, her condition has become critical. Normally she should be in a hospital, but Charley fears she might not survive the transport. He's doing everything he can."

"Maybe I can help," Alison said.

"You?" Sarah asked. "How?"

"This body is equipped with nanobots that accelerate tissue repair," she said and walked faster. "Maybe I can reprogram some of them and transfer them to Jesse, so they can heal her."

"Let her try, mom," John said. "I saw how fast those nanobots work. They actually close wounds within seconds on Alison's body."

Alison walked briskly ahead, ran up the stairs and pushed open the door to Derek's room. Derek looked up and literally jumped off his chair.

"Whoa," he said, his mouth agape, staring at her.

"Just think of a nun, Derek," Alison said with a smirk.

"Alison?" he asked flabbergasted.

"The one and only."

Charley sat on the bed next to Jesse and turned his head, staring at Alison in shock as well. Then the rest of the family plus Catherine and James entered the room.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you all doing in here?" Charley protested. "Let me do my job. You can't all come in at the same time."

"Charley, I think you should take a break," Alison said empathically and put her hand on his shoulder. "You've done all that you can. I can probably help her more than anyone else now."

"What? No! You're not a medic," Charley protested.

"I don't need to be," Alison simply said.

"Let her try, Charley," Sarah said. "Let's see if she really can help her."

Slowly, Charley stood up and went over to Sarah, watching Alison carefully and very suspiciously. She sat down on the edge of the bed and lay her hand on Jesse's forehead.

"What are you doing?" Derek asked in alarm.

"Scanning her genetic structure," Alison replied.

"By putting a hand on her skin?" Charley said. "That's impossible."

"No, I can do that as well, Mr. Dixon," Catherine said. "I've never seen a solid model being able to do it, though."

A couple of minutes passed. Everyone except Catherine and Cameron became increasingly nervous. Finally, Alison lifted her hand from Jesse's forehead.

"She's very weak. She'll die within the hour if I don't try it." She looked at Derek. "I can administer one billion nanobots to her body that I have programmed with her DNA for repair. They will seek the damaged tissue and fix it. After that they will correct any chemical imbalances and secondary damages her body has suffered due to her injury. When they are finished, they will cease to function and eventually be flooded out through her bladder."

Nobody said a word.

"To administer the nanobots in the quickest manner, I need to transfer them from mouth to mouth. Are you okay with that, Derek?"

Derek stared at her, unsure of what to say or do.

"It's Alison," Cameron finally said. "Ignore the looks, Derek, it's her. You can trust her."

"Alright," Derek finally said and rubbed his chin. "Do it."

Alison opened Jesse's mouth, then lowered down her own mouth over Jesse's. It looked a bit like as if she wanted to kiss her, but they could see that a thick glob of a gel-like substance was flowing into Jesse's mouth. Once that was done, Alison stood up and joined with the others again. John put his arm around her. Everyone was watching Jesse for something to happen.

"Are you sure that's working?" John asked.

"I don't know," Alison said. "It's the first time I try that."

"Great. Now you tell us," Derek said. "Why would Skynet come up with such a feature anyway? Surely not to heal humans, right?"

"No, Derek," Alison said. "It can also be administered to do the exact opposite."

"What do you mean?" James Ellison asked.

"The nanobots manipulate tissue on a molecular level. Among other things, they replicate and use themselves to heal injuries. My biological casing is saturated with them. I carry tens of billions of them. They become active when my skin is damaged. But I also have the option to program them to work in the same way for any other biological life form. I believe Skynet implemented this option to spread diseases among humans, creating cancer, Alzheimer's, pandemics, you name it. I thought about it a lot on the way home and I think the main reason for making this model, was to create a programmable biological weapon."

"That's nasty," Lauren said with a disgusted face.

"It is," Alison agreed. "But it's what Skynet would do. It doesn't care about how people die as long as they do. Skynet is a psychopathic mass murderer, remember? I admit It gives me intense pleasure to turn Skynet's creation into something to help people."

"Shouldn't it have worked by now?" John asked, "I mean it worked within fractions of a second with you."

"My tissue is different, John. It's less complex, and I'm much more saturated with nanobots," Alison said. "It might take a couple of minutes for them to reach Jesse's wound. But then it should go rather quickly. It'll heal from the inside out. Maybe you should remove the bandage, Charley."

Charley looked at Sarah and she nodded. He sat down and slowly loosened the bandage from her wound. The entry wound of the bullet was still clearly visible, even though it had been stitched. However, as they watched, the threads started to dissolve. The flesh around the wound turned from inflamed and sore to Jesse's normal skin tone. Slowly but clearly visible for everyone, the wound closed and finally vanished without a trace.

"I'll be damned," Charley said and stared at Alison, who smiled in satisfaction.

A couple of minutes later, Jesse opened her eyes and looked around.

"What happened?" she asked hoarsely, "where am I?"

"Jesse," Derek said with a tear running from his eye and sat down on her bed and took her hand.

"Derek?" she asked and looked at their hands. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I think we should leave them alone," Sarah said and everyone agreed. They all left the room and gathered downstairs.

"That," Charley said and pointed his finger towards Derek's room upstairs, "was the most impressive thing I've ever seen."

"I can think of a lot of occasions where that could come in handy," Sarah said to Alison and smiled. "Well done. All of you."

"Well, I guess I'll take a shower then," John said. "Are you two coming?"

"Yes, of course" both Alison and Cameron replied simultaneously and disappeared with John in their bedroom.

"I guess some things never change," Lauren said.

"What? That the three of them take a shower together?" Sarah asked.

"No," Lauren replied smiling, "that they still talk in synchrony very often."

-0-

Half an hour later, Cameron, Alison and John appeared in the living room again. Alison wore a short-sleeved shirt and jeans from John's wardrobe. It was a bit loose on her but would do until they bought fitting clothes for her.

Everyone seemed to have adjusted to the new Alison very quickly, especially since they witnessed what she had done for Jesse. While they told them about their hiking trip, Lauren suddenly pointed towards the stairs.

"Look!" she said, and everyone turned their heads.

They saw Derek coming down the stairs, hand in hand with Jesse. She seemed to be fit enough to walk alone without support.

"I'll be damned," James Ellison said, "An hour ago she was on the brink of death and now…"

"How do you feel?" Charley asked her once she had reached the living room. He checked her pulse and looked at her pupils.

"Good, I think," she replied. "I'm really hungry, though."

Everyone chuckled.

"I arranged for some dinner," Catherine said with a smile, "this day needs to be celebrated. I called the catering service I always use for business meetings. They'll be here in half an hour."

"Isn't that a bit risky?" John asked. "Bringing strange people here?"

"Let's forget about the risky business for a while," Catherine said smiling. "Our enemies are in a paralytic shock right now and the catering service is very discrete. I'm their best customer after all."

Jesse had walked towards Alison. She seemed to be struggling for words.

"Derek told me what you did with this new body of yours. I'm sorry your old body was destroyed last night."

"We wouldn't have been successful without you," Alison said. "If you wouldn't have thrown yourself into the line of fire, Jacobson would have killed Future John. Then the Russian warhead would have exploded because only he knew the code to activate the overload in my power cell."

"I guess we both did our part then," Jesse said. "Obviously I completely misjudged you. Both of you."

Jesse stepped towards Alison and hugged her. Alison hugged her back. It was a very touching moment. After Jesse stepped back again, Derek came forth and hugged Alison as well.

"I don't know what to say…" he said. "Except thank you."

"It's alright, Derek," Alison said. "We're family, right?"

"Right," he said with a smile.

"So…" Cameron said to Jesse, "I take it you and Derek have become reconciled?"

"I guess we have," Derek said, walked over to Jesse and put her arm around her.

"That was about fucking time!" Alison said in Derek's voice. Everyone broke out into laughter, even Jesse.

-0-

The food was indeed excellent. The catering service only showed up to set up the food pans on warming plates, then left again. They would retrieve the empty pans next morning.

During the following two hours, everyone was brought up to date with everything that happened since last night. When John came to tell about the car accident and Cameron saving the lives of a whole family, everyone was shocked but immediately supported her decision to help. Especially Charley was very impressed by her behavior.

They had deliberately left off the television for most of the day, relying on John Henry monitoring everything and calling them if something of importance was happening. But John was curious, so after dinner he switched on the TV and everyone else joined him. Of course, the explosion downtown which lead to the collapse of the Simdyne building, was still dominating the news. A male newsreader spoke over helicopter footage from the scene and a video cut that had made from several positions around it, ran in a constant loop.

"… _still no leads. Although a terrorist attack still cannot be excluded at this moment, officials say they're also investigating in the direction of a possible accident. According to the authorities, Simdyne had the permission to do research in its underground floors. There was a number of laboratories and research facilities in the sub levels of the building, with people working on highly classified projects, some of them government-funded._

 _Simdyne was struggling financially and there were rumors that Zeira Corp had bought up lots of shares and was planning to take over the company. Simdyne CEO Adam Jacobson is still missing, presumably having fled to Mexico to prevent arrest for being charged with tax evasion. Zeira Corp CEO Catherine Weaver wasn't available for comment, but it is expected that all investments into Simdyne have now become a write-off for her._

 _Rumors about a heightened level of radioactivity at the scene were neither confirmed nor denied. At the time, it is too early to come to any conclusions, the officials said. The only known facts so far are that there are no people missing, so it's assumed that the building was empty and there were no casualties. What happened to the security guards at Simdyne, is unknown. So far, the police couldn't learn about their names or addresses. In the surrounding buildings, nobody was hurt but the explosion and the following structural collapse had produced tremors comparable to a quake with a magnitude of 7.1 on the Richter scale, causing some damage on neighboring buildings._

 _One mystery of this drama is that according to the electrical provider, the Simdyne building apparently was cut from power roughly two hours before the explosion. At the same time, all telephone networks in downtown Los Angeles were offline as well and there seem to be no recordings of the traffic control cameras between 1:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. A technician was to be dispatched to Simdyne to check on the electrical problem, but he couldn't be reached on the phone. That probably saved his life._

 _Since the early morning hours, the police have been setting up road blocks on all outgoing streets of Los Angeles and L.A. County but except for arresting some people that had been on wanted lists before, the police didn't report any results. The FBI and Homeland Security are on the case but so far keep their knowledge close to the vest, refusing to make any comments. The only thing we can be sure of is that L.A. citizens weren't too impressed about the disaster and unwilling to allow their Sunday being spoiled. Due to the nice weather, the number of visitors in the recreational areas was at a record high._

 _Commuters to downtown L.A. should expect massive delays on their way to work for the next week, since a half-mile diameter around the former Simdyne building has been declared a restricted area. Nobody without permission can go in there, which lead to immediate protests of many companies in the neighborhood, who very likely look towards a forced company holiday for at least a week and are facing a considerable financial loss. It could have been worse, though, since the summer school break is starting tomorrow, and many Los Angeles citizens are likely to start into their holidays anyway."_

"Good for you that Zeira is two miles away from there," John said to Catherine.

"Yes, I suppose we wouldn't have been very good neighbors anyway," she said.

" _But we don't want to end our news special without at least one good news today, Alan"_ a female newsreader now said, and the camera switched to her, _"because an astonishing and quite exceptional act of heroism happened on the Ventura Freeway at Pasadena today."_

"Uh-oh," John said and everyone stared at the screen.

" _A collision with a semi-truck had left a family of five trapped in their car at 3:55 p.m. today. The car caught fire and all five family members were trapped inside. Nobody of the bystanders dared to get closer, except a young girl or woman, who according to witnesses suddenly appeared at the scene of the accident and was able to free all five family members. However, the extraordinary part was not her exemplary act of courage but the way she freed them from the car. Here's some footage that bystanders took with their cellphones, which has been going viral on the internet since late afternoon."_

They all saw how Cameron practically ripped the car apart, throwing the doors far away and how she freed the desperate father and mother and the three children. Then the film showed Cameron turning around, looking into different directions, facing the camera and then turning towards the guard rail, jumping over the fence and disappearing into the undergrowth. The person holding the camera ran after her but couldn't find her again in the vegetation below the freeway.

" _So far experts are absolutely baffled and have no explanation how a young, petite girl was able to tear an MPV apart with no apparent effort, then jump from a bridge that is elevated fifteen feet above the ground and disappear without a trace. Speculations range from drugs to an adrenaline boost but even with such helpers it normally needs heavy machinery to apply the necessary amount of physical force. Even the strongest human wouldn't be able to tear steel apart like that. However, the family in the car who faced certain death and were freed by this very special miss, doesn't care."_

" _We owe her our life,"_ the mother of the family told a reporter who held a microphone to her face. _"I was trapped in there and she simply tore the seatbelt apart as if it was made from paper. It was unbelievable. Wherever you are: Thank you. Thank you so much."_

Then the woman broke out in tears, the camera panned away from her and a male reporter resumed the on-scene report.

" _Little is known about the identity of the mystery girl. The footage only shows that by the clothes she wore she was dressed for a hiking trip, wearing big, mirrored sunglasses and a baseball cap which both obscured her face. She's either Caucasian or Asian, probably between sixteen and twenty-five years of age, slim, 5'5" with long brown hair. Witnesses have tried to determine where she came from but with hundreds of cars being caught in the traffic jam behind the accident and everyone only paying attention to the burning car, it remains unknown."_

The picture switched to the studio and the female newsreader took over again.

" _That was an incredible action and we're all clueless who she managed to do that. However, I guess I'm not going out on a limb when I'm saying that whoever you are, we all here definitely raise our hats to you. If you ever decide to come forward, we'd be happy to welcome you to our station for an interview."_

John switched off the TV.

"We need to get rid of the Jeep," Derek said.

"What?" Lauren asked. "No! Why?"

"Because this will be all over the internet," John said. "Millions will now be out there, looking for Cameron and eventually somebody will link her to the East Fork parking lot and the hiking trail, where we met hundreds of people today. And other people might also have seen her running through the neighborhood in Altadena, across the golf course or at the fast food restaurant where we picked her up. Chances are high that at some point people will remember a metallic-blue Jeep."

"Lauren," Sarah said empathically, "we understand that car means a lot to you, but we have no choice."

"But I'll need the car tomorrow. Morris and I will go to the movies," Lauren said stubbornly, "And the license plates won't lead them here, even if they know them."

"No," James Ellison said, "but it will make them even more eager to find Cameron when they find out the license plate is registered to a dead banker whose daughter is missing. Derek's right, the car needs to go."

"We could hide it," Lauren said stubbornly.

"Too risky," Catherine said. "I have to agree with Derek, Sarah and James."

"I'm sorry," Cameron said and took Lauren in her arms. "It's my fault."

Lauren sighed. "No, it's not. You're a hero, Cam. What is sacrificing a car compared to saving the lives of a family?"

"There are fingerprints and DNA traces from almost all of us in there," Derek said. "We need to drive it into the desert and burn it."

Lauren nodded. "But I wanna be there when you do it, she said. I'm gonna drive it."

"And I'll come with you," Cameron said.

"Me too," Alison said.

"Count me in as well," John said.

"I guess we're all coming," Sarah said with a smile.

"Maybe that's the perfect time to excuse ourselves," Catherine said. "James and I will go now. We have a lot of work ahead of us tomorrow and I will need to face the press. They might even wait for me already at my house."

"Yes, probably a good idea. We can handle this on our own," Sarah said.

"I'm sure you can," Catherine replied.

Everyone said their goodbyes and Catherine and James left. Jesse, however, stayed with them. At some point since the attack on Simdyne, she had silently become a member of the family.

-0-

Two hours later, they were at a lonely spot in the desert about five miles east of highway 395. They had chosen a pan in the ground that prevented the fire from being seem from the highway.

Derek was emptying a jerrycan of fuel into the Jeep, then stepped back and threw a flare into the car, which immediately set it ablaze.

Everyone stood and watched the fire. Cameron and Alison held Lauren tight, who shed a few tears. When they were sure that the car would be completely consumed by the flames, they entered their vehicles again and drove back to Burbank.

It was shortly after midnight when they arrived home again.

"I can't believe it has been just one day since we started driving to Simdyne," John said and fell exhausted onto the couch.

"You all should rest now," Alison said. "Cameron and I will clean up."

Suddenly, there was a crackling, humming noise coming from the back yard and they saw flashes and lightning through the windows – the undeniable signs of a forming time bubble.

"Ok, now what?" John asked frustrated.

"You gotta be kidding me," Derek exclaimed.

Alison and Cameron fetched their Glocks, Sarah armed herself with an Uzi, Derek grabbed a shotgun.

"What about Catherine's guns?" John asked.

"Out of ammo," Cameron replied. "I fired it all at the terminators."

"Great," John said. "And Catherine has gone home."

They ran out to the back yard. The time bubble was forming between the house and their new swimming pool.

With a loud _whoosh_ , the bubble expanded and then disappeared, leaving a steaming, burnt spot of lawn. In the middle of the spot, three naked forms were hunched down.

"Human or machine?" Sarah whispered to Alison.

"Human," she whispered back."

Sarah switched on her flashlight. Three young women looked towards them, shrieked and tried to cover their bodies.

"Who the hell are you?" Sarah asked.

"Please," the left one of the three said, "could we have some clothes first?" The voice was all too familiar.

"Alison?" Derek asked flabbergasted. "Alison Young?"

"Um… yeah… that was my name before I got adopted," she replied. Sarah shone her flashlight into her face and everyone could see it was indeed Alison Young because she looked almost identical to Cameron. Only her hair was a bit shorter. "Everyone calls me Allie," She said. "Allie Connor."

"And I'm Savannah Connor," the second woman said, a pretty redhead. "I got adopted as well when my mother died, Catherine Weaver. And this here is Sydney Fields," she pointed at the third girl, who had shoulder-length dark brown hair and a rather pale skin.

Lauren gasped. "Oh my God," she said.

"Lauren? Is that you?" Sydney asked, shielding her eyes from Sarah's flashlight.

"I suppose we won't get to bed already after all," John said.

-0-

Far away from the Connor home in Burbank, in a dimly lit office with lots of flat screen monitors mounted at the wall, a young African-American sat in a chair and typed frantically into a computer. A door behind him opened and an air force colonel entered the room.

"Are you here to bring me home now?" the young man at the desk asked. "I did all you requested from me."

"I'm afraid the plans have changed, Mr. Dyson," the colonel said. "We are forced to start from the beginning and need your help with that."

 **THE END**

 ** _\- Just for the record: Allison Gulch and Allison Mine really exist. Was too good to let that pass._**

 ** _\- The story continues in my next story: "Dawn of a new Era". Thanks to all readers who stayed until the end and have learned to like the alternative TSCC universe I created._**


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